Public Servants In Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

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“Therefore the primary duty of public servants is to act as guardians and guarantors of the regime values for the American public” (Frederickson, 205). Frederickson viewed those in public servitude as the great ambassadors and representation of the American Government system. When one thinks of such a character we perhaps think about our Founding Fathers or Jimmy Stewart’s character in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Earlier, I pointed out that the public had the ability to voice and relay their opinions on their public officials, especially if they are not pleased with them. Each individual holds certain morals to themselves and certain values are treasured to them, because they are ones they learned through their experiences. …show more content…

The question poses, what are “American regime values?” With Frederickson’s presentation of what it means to use extensive benevolence and self-love for the field, these principles leave a lot of room for interpretation, since they are generalized statements. “The Code of Ethics has long been recognized as an important means to promote ethical behavior and professionalism in public administration. Included in this obligation are requirements for administrators to support the public’s right to know, to be prepared to make decisions that are not popular, and to exercise compassion, benevolence, fairness, and optimism when interacting with citizens”(Givel, Spivak, 2011). Essentially, love and benevolence in the public administration, we know is someone who loves their country and takes pride in representing it, someone who abides by the constitution and the code of ethics, and wants to represent or help their community. Once again, the same issue surfaces, which these guidelines leave room for interpretation, in which how serving the public and how the public is being served will create differences on various

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