Democracy’s Art: Better Angels, Human Possibilities and Practice

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Lisa Saye
August 28, 2021

Corridor of Service© São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Photo and Title by Lisa Saye

Public administration is the visible and actual implementation of a particular political narrative. Its agencies and its public servants are given limited and legal authority to interpret the will of the state in disseminating equal parts of the public good. Democracy has proven to be the prescient political ideology that allows for the capture and expansion of rights, concepts and new governmental processes. It is the dramatic exception to corruption, evil, mismanagement and grift. It is the exception because within its structure are the default consequences necessary to keep a government afloat. A solid democracy happily eulogizes incompetence and inaction. It offers its citizens a constitutional measure of stability and transparency. It survives the past, the present and what we imagine may be the future.

For public administration to work it has to reject the snob appeal of position and power. It corrects, or is supposed to correct, society’s deficits in the form of access for all. Public administration derives its meaning and its value through its enactment. In expanding policy through programs, public administration creates effective and appropriate ways to address the needs of the citizenry. It relies on a collaborative structure of discussion and debate to highlight best practices.

History is now. It always has been. I believe that everyone that fashioned himself or herself a philosopher has said the same at one time or another. This article is far from an attempt at philosphy, but it is an attempt to make the jump from now to now. If history is indeed now, then history is immediate. Public administrators understand this intrinsically. We know that when our citizens are faced with hunger that they need food now. We know that public transportation is today’s lifeline for a poor family and that the buses and the trains must run now. We don’t operate in myth and maybe because we know that our citizens are not arriving in our offices or by virtual conference to be interviewed; they are arriving to be helped.

Democracy’s structure of inclusion allows public administrators the framework to avoid history repeating itself through ineffective governance. In a million different settings, platforms and circumstances, democracy is as revolutionary as it is necessary. Its major instrument, public administration, reduces the unpredictability of metaphor embedded in policy. Public administration makes those types of policy reconcilable and manageable. And even further, it avoids the indifference buried in the polar extremes, preferring to balance policy interpretation in the middle. Thus, public administration is the treatment of the human possibilities that fall into the category of public good.

When democracy is poorly administered, pain becomes a tax-paying citizen. Imagine needing to travel by airplane and when you arrive for your flight the airport is surrounded by blast walls and soldiers. Imagine internet and electricity blackouts that last days and days then weeks and weeks. Imagine no government at all. Labeling these humiliations a failure of democracy is fraudulent because deep down these situations were never stable in the first place. Real democracy is unified and continuous no matter who inherits the framework.

Democracy challenges us to be better angels. It’s a vocation of will and integrity. Whole countries define themselves by the degree to which they are democratic while others congratulate themselves on their window dressing. Democracy speaks to our sense of fairness, representation and justice. Public administrators recognize this and work to try to fulfill democracy’s promise. This is a classic event that is repeated through time and trial. History is and will continue to be a witness to those efforts and we must not let her down.

The United States uses a General Schedule (GS) to determine the pay scale for federal employees. States and local governments use a specific pay scale as well. These pay scales do more than indicate a person’s pay. They also indicate the level of technical and practical expertise of the people within the scale. These measures present an ambundance of capacities for administering government. It is the road system whereby laws are implemented both physically and virtually. Without such a system, citizens become disconnected then abandoned. Public servants working within this system are the sign-posts and mile-markers bringing together state and people. They draw up the blueprint of public service tomorrow, next Wednesday or next month. Public servants practice government—every day. And practice makes perfect.

The copyrighted ‘Corridor of Service’ image was taken by Lisa Saye in São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

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Author: Lisa Saye teaches Applied Research Methods for the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at DePaul University. Saye served as Fulbright Specialist in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and as International Consultant for the United Nations Development Program in The Maldives. Dr. Saye earned her Master’s in Human Resource Management at Troy University and her Doctorate in Public Administration at The University of Alabama. She can be reached by email at [email protected].

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