Public Servants

I'm doing a paper for school.
I figured this would be the easiest way to gather opinions.

We've all seen the fire engine, ambulance, or police car racing down the road to go to some type of emergency.

My question is: Why?

Why are firefighters and paramedics (the majority of which are volunteer)
and police officers willing to give up their lives for a stranger?

Why are they willing to put themselves in a dangerous situation that could result in the end of their lives for little (and more often, no compensation).

The majority of firefighters and paramedics are not paid.
Yet they spend a lot of THEIR own money, time and effort just for the sake of the community.

Basic human instinct is to survive at all costs. Yet, this doesn't seem to always apply to them, something comes over them that drives them to the ultimate sacrifice.
What could this driving force be? Why doesn't everybody have it?
If everybody does have it, why don't they use it?

Why would anybody want to be a part of a thankless, usually payless, stressful job, where you see more bad then good?

Some firefighters are as young as 16.
Is a 16 year old really capable of performing that task?
The better question is, is anybody?

I guess the core question is, what would compel somebody to dedicate their life to saving others at their own expense?

What makes them able to forget that they are afraid or to forget that they wanted to see their children when they got home?

This is more or less a discussion of human nature and the human thought process.

People idolize "gangstas", celebrities, even criminals.
What do people see in the above that makes them want to call them "heros" and "idols"?

I pretty much repeated the same two questions over and over again...
feel free to add one.

Some people feel that fire departments, police departments, and EMS should be disbanded, do you agree?

No. This is true act of pro-social behaviour known as Altruism. It is the act of helping someone else without seeking anything in return. I would say that they are the good people in this world. They are selfless and on the risk of their life they would save another. How could someone say it could be disbanded if it is saving lives? People must remember that people who become policemen, fire fighters, etc have chosen their role in the community. People should be thankful about it. Well, thats my opinion... I hoped I helped.

I had a teacher who had levels of responsibility... The lowest was doing something to avoid getting in trouble and the highest being doing something for the common good and expecting nothing in return. I really thought about these and realized that I'm not always like that but I wish I could be. Too many people shrug responsibility off as long as no one's making them do it. That's (in my opinion) why so many people in this country are overweight, criminals, molesters of some sort, and many other things that we shouldn't have in society. I think that we could have a perfect nation if more people were like the firefighters and paramedics that we have today.

S713:

Some people feel that fire departments, police departments, and EMS should be disbanded, do you agree?

I dont understand.

So these people think that Fire Departments and things should be disbanded?

So if theyre dying, or trapped in a burning building, what, do they think God will come down from the high heavens and rescue them or something?

S713:

Some firefighters are as young as 16.
Is a 16 year old really capable of performing that task?
The better question is, is anybody?

Surely they'd be doing a better job than if nobody was doing the job?

Right?

xo

Do you know how much the death rate would go up if they disbanned the fire and police department???????? How much crime would go up?????? The world has already gone to shit, doing that will destroy the world as we know it completely!

I would wager it's something called human compassion. It's not a thankless job. It's like being a superhero without the cape. You get to save lives. You can rescue a woman from a burning building and know that some kid will not have to suffer a life without his mother. You can drive a man to the hospital and know that you are giving someone's daddy a second chance.

Some people really love to help others, that's their talent in life. That's what they do best and they feel good doing it. Here in NYC, there is a LOT of pride involved in being a police officer. It's something people aspire to. If it makes you happy deep down inside, the money compensation shouldn't matter. It's not at all thankless. I know a paramedic and he's saved lives, made a difference and he gets thanked all the time. He's keeping families together. He does it because he knows he's making a difference.