I try not to whine.
I put forth a good deal of effort to "maintain an even strain" and keep most of my emotions in check. I guess it comes from the time I spent as a paramedic, then as an emergency department nurse. Nobody can deliver accurate, precise care to someone in a struggle for their life if the caregiver gets caught up in the emotion of "the moment".
I can thank my first EMS boss for that. He was merciless if he caught you "losing your shit" on the scene of an emergency. I learned to detach myself and go through the motions almost as if acting in third person.
Occasionally, I read something that robs me of my objectivity. Today, 2 Chicago firemen lost their lives battling a blaze. One had been with the department long enough to earn the adjective "veteran" and the other just beyond the moniker "rookie".
In between the tragedies that often befall Public Safety employees, there is always the interval where politicians and public opinion look to pinch pennies by cutting either raises, positions, or benefits for the very people who put themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of us. If I had a dime for every time I read of someone assailing the Public Safety budget, or their retirement, I could easily retire myself today.
I guess 9/11 was the last major loss of life for Public Safety employees. 343 firefighters/EMS personnel and 23 police officers were inside the towers trying to get to the victims when they fell. Just this year, there is talk of cutting 20 fire companies from the FDNY budget and 829 police officers. I suppose after after 9 years enough time has passed that public safety is no longer politically expedient.
While no area funded by taxpayers is a sacred cow, I believe that there are certain things taxpayers expect for their money. In the scheme of things, I believe the average taxpayer expects premium emergency response when their lives are in danger and would triage this need far above the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Film Commission, or Wine and Grape Growers Council.
As to the individual benefits of being a public safety employee, I would answer this. How many of you are expected to work half your weekends, many of your nights, and a lot of holidays with the real possibility that you may never get to come home? How many of you at upper middle age are expected to be able to wrestle a criminal to the ground, or climb a ladder wearing 50 pounds of gear to the roof of a burning building, or load a 290 pound patient patient into the back of an ambulance all while giving him CPR? It is definitely young people's work and it is recognized that it is unreasonable to expect someone to carry on these professions into their senior years. The sacrifices of time away from their families and constant danger should award them an early retirement.