I worked most my entire life

[SHRED]

In the public sector.

From cleaning school rooms and picking up after kids to maintaining public parks, to leading a crew and equipment preventing disaster in stormwater/flood control.
All unsung. All noticed only once in a while.

Just letting everyone know that there are lots of "heroes" and public servants out there making life better for us all. Heroes and service to country are not exclusive property of the military.

[Aussie105]

1. The moms and dads

who go to work at dreary, sometimes dangerous or demanding jobs to pay the bills and put food on the table are the true unsung heroes of our time.

Society could not function without them.

I salute you. Whoever you are, wherever you are.

Take a bow, then get back into it.

[iluvtennis]

2. Ditto.

[PatrickforO]

3. I too work in the public sector.

To my mind, such work is a 'giving back,' a way to make the world we live in better through serving others. Thirty years I've given, and I would give them again. All work has dignity, but work in public service has a special dignity.

Congrats! I made the decision long ago that I wanted to make a difference instead of a profit, and I've never, ever regretted that.

[Karadeniz]

4. I notice and thank you all!

[mokawanis]

5. I applaud the work you did

I also worked in the public sector. 17 years working with developmentally disabled people and another 19 years working at a psychiatric hospital. During that time I endured a broken rib, a broken thumb, and a concussion.

After 36 years I retired, and I feel I earned the pension payment I receive every month. I am fortunate to live in Wisconsin which has a very robust employee trust fund, one of the best in the country.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Thanks you, SHRED. nt

❤

[KT2000]

7. so true

So many people doing their jobs well, going the extra mile out of dedication. Instead of trying to make them feel small, the other party should be thanking them from the bottom of their heart.

[GeoWilliam750]

8. Thank you SHRED!

[No Vested Interest]

9. +1

[SunSeeker]

10. K & R

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Just finished the book

Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. What you did was absolutely not a bullshit job. That book along with Give People Money by Annie Lowery about a Universal Basic Income, have completely changed my thinking about a lot of stuff.

I never really had a bullshit job, but I see how a UBI can be a powerful force to change the world. Read both of them. Then report back to me.

[Shemp Howard]

12. Me too.

I worked for decades as a public school teacher. Kids would thank me at the end of the school year. And I would occasionally get a nice letter from a former student who was now in the work force.

But I got little thanks from the public at large. Because I got summers off! No matter that I spent hours at home on school nights grading papers.

And I get a decent pension. More criticism. No matter that I contributed to the pension system every year that I worked.

Maybe I shouldn't complain too much. Because the thanks I got from my students far outweighs the grumbling I got from my neighbors.

[rusty quoin]

13. I was in the military for four years. That never made me better than anyone,

and I never used it in a way to make me better than any one else. I did my job.

I think people like teachers are better people than me because they give back.

I was no hero nor were most of us, but a teacher...that really can be one.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. The military gave me some advantages.

I was only in for two years, but the G.I. Bill got me through college. And, should my finances fall apart, the V.A. is a pretty good safety net.

That, plus I got to see a bunch of countries.

Plus, I get a free lunch at Applebee's every Nov 11.



No hero here, the only thing I shot at was a paper target.

[rampartc]

14. absolutely

hero? our rw patriots would label that a "taker" who is stealing their precious tax money.

[handmade34]

16. to you and all "heros"

in a just world all would be service...

[spanone]

17. K&R...👍🏼

[UpInArms]

18. My favorite unsung heroes are

The guys who get out in the worst weather and plow horrifying snowy and dangerous roads to try to keep people safe.

[SHRED]

19. Thank you all

The replies are touching. ❤

[akraven]

20. As did I, both the USAF and into teaching.

So many unsung heroes - most of mine are teachers.

[pintobean]

21. A good friend of mine died a few years ago.

He was pushing the century mark when he passed. On June 6, 1944 he hit Omaha Beach and fought his way across Europe. He watched many of his best friends ever die in that fight. He witnessed the worst atrocities man could inflict on their fellow man.

I once referred to my friend as a hero. He got pissed at me and told me to stfu. He told me that the real heroes are buried in Europe and across the Pacific, or their remains were sent back to their families. He said that that was true with every war that we fought. The real heroes gave everything. He got to come home and live a long life.

He told me this 60+ years after coming home, and he was crying when he spoke to me.

A lifetime of work, and service to others is honorable, but let's not cheapen the word hero.

[SHRED]

22. I didn't intend to "cheapen" the word hero

That was not my intention.

What I will say is that everywhere I turn in the media, every single person who served in the military is called a "hero".
That's where the word hero is cheapened in my opinion.

[Blue Owl]

23. K&R for the unsung heros