By Jarret Liotta

WESTPORT — Several signs from the universe this week — including news of a razor-thin slate of RTM candidates — prompted me to share a view on service work and its various — and sometimes precarious — guises.

With Election Day getting remarkably close, and more political races uncontested than is typical, one wonders how Calls to Service play out going forward, especially in an affluent town like ours where most of us can easily avoid doing dirty work.

Strangely enough — and sadly enough — over the years I’ve probably sat through more public meetings than many elected officials ever will. I can tell you they’re not for the faint of heart.

The sometimes-astounding level of thick, swampy particulars unearthed for discussion at many town meetings, cemented by gnawing feasts of minutiae slapped in between, like so much grey mortar, make the prospect of local political service a discouraging and dizzying one to any thinking person.

Add to that an ever-present cast of pathologically garrulous grandstanders — both in and out of office — who seem to strive to make each public session as painful as possible with their all-too-often redundant opinions and interjections.

It’s a remarkable wonder that any halfway sane soul would devote even one unpaid hour to serving in town government, let alone hundreds.

Down & Dirty Democracy

Yet the building blocks of democracy are forged in these very mud pits, with the seemingly bland clay of pedantic ordinances, minutely detailed budgets and hyper-local debates amounting to the foundation upon which we strive to build our state, country and world.

Of course while the need of public political servants is ever-present, the need to apply is not requisite. Not everyone is temperamentally suited to participate in politics, nor should some even be allowed into office.

In an ideal world — and I’ve still got my fingers crossed in that regard — the motive in each politician’s heart has nothing to do with their business interests or their damaged ego insecurities, but instead authentically centers on a sincere desire to help make their town and the world a better place.

Like most municipalities, Westport probably includes a hearty mix of those motivations. I can’t begin to hazard a guess as to where they start and end, but I do believe, based on my experience, that most of those in, or seeking, public office in this town truly feel in their heart and gut that they have something positive to offer and they want to share that with others.

Taking the Service Cure

Beyond augmenting change, it’s important for everyone to recognize that service work, in all its forms, is truly a healthful cure to what ails you.

(One editor I work with knows this. While he has an intrinsically evil heart, the man still devotes many hours each week to helping at a food pantry. He won’t say it, but I’m sure he does this because it makes him feel good — the selfish bastard!)

People I’m acquainted with always seem surprised to learn that even I play, or have played, roles in service here and there over the years.

“Seriously? You?!” (They don’t actually say that, but I can see it in their eyes.)

But I know firsthand that service work, while it helps others, is really a golden panacea path to grooving on good feelings you don’t come by as readily at home watching television. (Though sometimes you actually do!)

Still, my main motive is really to feel good in process (though I also entertain a fantasy of one day being nominated for Dan Woog’s Unsung Hero column in the 06880!)

“A man’s gotta know his limitations.” — Harry Callahan

Fortunately, through trial and error, I’ve come to understand where my strengths lie in relation to the kinds of service work I’m best suited, which these days center on staying in bed most of the day. (Sometimes the omitted sins, wherein one spares the world their brand of surly interaction, soundly equate to a wealth of service hours by comparison.)

I’m therefore all the more impressed and awestruck by those who go out and contend with the contentions of local politics and town government. And that goes not only for the elected officials, who at least get to have those cool name placards and microphones, but also the un-elected that still spend their time watchdogging and inquiring, for they’re helping to build — and rebuild — our democracy as well.

God bless the gadfly, for they put care into seemingly obscure things that sometimes turn out to be of grave importance.

And bless the true politician, whose astounding ability to endure a merciless barrage of opinions and personalities with aplomb, then seek to gently guide sloppy consensus with a minimum of spillover to a sound — if imperfect — conclusion is always worth recognition and appreciation.

I could never do it; I sincerely appreciate those who can.