Today we met with a roofer who came to look at our roof. We've had a couple of nasty rainstorms lately, and we wanted to make sure our roof was holding up.
Judging from his looks, the roofer is in his sixties and has been doing this kind of work for a long time. He's now in business with his sons, though we haven't met them, and they seem to have a steady stream of work, including some major projects as well as single-family homes. He brought one of his ladders, and climbed to the roof with great dexterity. Once up there, he knew exactly what to look for and identified our minor and easily repairable issues quite quickly. He told us that the roof should last several more years, and his obvious care and expertise immediately instilled confidence in us.
We care about our house, and about keeping it water-tight. This is our home. We live here, we have great memories here, and most of our stuff is here. We hope to outlive the current roof and that this house one day will provide a good home for another caring family.
Because we care about our home, and about its future, we would not entrust the roof work to just anyone. We made sure we got a referral from another contractor whom we trust. The person we put our faith in is experienced in roofing and has a good reputation in his chosen field. We would not hire a plumber to fix our roof. Nor would we hire a banker, a barber, a bartender, a butcher, or even a builder who lacked roofing experience. Had we hired people in any of those professions, or really any profession other than roofing, our neighbors would have thought we were crazy. And it would be clear to everyone that we didn't care much about the future of our house.
And so it is with all things. If you need a tooth filled, you go to a reputable dentist. If you need new glasses, you go to an eye doctor. If you need brain surgery, you definitely want an experienced brain surgeon. There is a reason for differentiation among the professions, and within the professions. If you care about the outcome, you hire a good, experienced specialist for specialty work.
If you don't care about the outcome, if you are willing to live with a leaky roof, if you don't care about the people to whom you one day will sell your house, or about getting a good return on your investment when you do, then you hire someone who is not a roofer. Or, when you need surgery, you hire a talk-show host or, dare I say it, a lawyer, to perform it.
But who would do that, really? What kind of person would do that?
And so it is with government. When hiring a person to run an agency or serve in another branch of government, you should want someone who understands and will promote the work of the agency or branch. An environmental expert to run an environmental agency. An accomplished educator to run an education department. An expert on energy to run an energy department. A highly qualified scientist to serve as chief scientist overseeing agriculture. An experienced trial lawyer to serve as a trial court judge.
Unless, of course, you don't care about the outcome, you don't care about the agency, you don't care about the work it does, you don't care about the people it serves, and you don't care about the future generations that will be affected by the actions it takes (or doesn't take) today. Then you just hire your family, your friends, or anyone else who you think will be loyal to you, who will perform favors for you, and who will have your back when the chips are down.
But who would do that, really? What kind of person would do that?
Judging from his looks, the roofer is in his sixties and has been doing this kind of work for a long time. He's now in business with his sons, though we haven't met them, and they seem to have a steady stream of work, including some major projects as well as single-family homes. He brought one of his ladders, and climbed to the roof with great dexterity. Once up there, he knew exactly what to look for and identified our minor and easily repairable issues quite quickly. He told us that the roof should last several more years, and his obvious care and expertise immediately instilled confidence in us.
We care about our house, and about keeping it water-tight. This is our home. We live here, we have great memories here, and most of our stuff is here. We hope to outlive the current roof and that this house one day will provide a good home for another caring family.
Because we care about our home, and about its future, we would not entrust the roof work to just anyone. We made sure we got a referral from another contractor whom we trust. The person we put our faith in is experienced in roofing and has a good reputation in his chosen field. We would not hire a plumber to fix our roof. Nor would we hire a banker, a barber, a bartender, a butcher, or even a builder who lacked roofing experience. Had we hired people in any of those professions, or really any profession other than roofing, our neighbors would have thought we were crazy. And it would be clear to everyone that we didn't care much about the future of our house.
And so it is with all things. If you need a tooth filled, you go to a reputable dentist. If you need new glasses, you go to an eye doctor. If you need brain surgery, you definitely want an experienced brain surgeon. There is a reason for differentiation among the professions, and within the professions. If you care about the outcome, you hire a good, experienced specialist for specialty work.
If you don't care about the outcome, if you are willing to live with a leaky roof, if you don't care about the people to whom you one day will sell your house, or about getting a good return on your investment when you do, then you hire someone who is not a roofer. Or, when you need surgery, you hire a talk-show host or, dare I say it, a lawyer, to perform it.
But who would do that, really? What kind of person would do that?
And so it is with government. When hiring a person to run an agency or serve in another branch of government, you should want someone who understands and will promote the work of the agency or branch. An environmental expert to run an environmental agency. An accomplished educator to run an education department. An expert on energy to run an energy department. A highly qualified scientist to serve as chief scientist overseeing agriculture. An experienced trial lawyer to serve as a trial court judge.
Unless, of course, you don't care about the outcome, you don't care about the agency, you don't care about the work it does, you don't care about the people it serves, and you don't care about the future generations that will be affected by the actions it takes (or doesn't take) today. Then you just hire your family, your friends, or anyone else who you think will be loyal to you, who will perform favors for you, and who will have your back when the chips are down.
But who would do that, really? What kind of person would do that?
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