My husband is active military and has been away to other countries, defending our freedoms, more than he has been home. His fight is a visual fight. You can see it on the news or even watch TV programs that highlight charitable events towards soldiers’ families. I do not want to downplay the War on Terror by any means, but there is a war here at home that does not get as much media attention: I am choosing to call this the War on Ethics.

I have been a public servant in state government for about seven years. I had a “break” in service after one temporary appointment, so only five years truly counts on my “permanent” record. In those five years, I have promoted up rather quickly, especially for someone still in their twenties. I went from Office Assistant to Revenue Officer to Lead Auditor 4 to Information Technology Specialist 3. Every jump included an additional five hundred dollars in my monthly paycheck.

The higher up I have gone, the more politics I have been around. The more I have seen, the more I have become physically ill at the lack of ethics-and the lack of concern among fellow public servants.

As a governmental employee, I have never forgotten-not for one single day-where my paycheck comes from. Taxes. The People. I am work, “for the people and by the people.” Regardless of who my stakeholders are in each position, I know that ultimately, I am serving the People.

Sometimes we have to pick our battles. Sometimes we will see “small” violations of policy or law. Perhaps it’s just something non-material like “diminis use” of government property. For example, a co-worker accessing Match.com on their break. They are using government property for something that isn’t work-related. That is a violation. Do I say anything? If it’s an isolated event, probably not. No one is getting hurt, they aren’t using it to excess, it is limited to their break-time, it’s not ruining productivity, etc. Classic situational ethics.

But what happens if the co-worker begins to buy and sell stocks using their agency computer? That is not only a violation of the “diminis use” policy but is also a conflict of interest. The other situation is as well, but there is an unspoken hierarchy of ethical evils, and this now tips the balance.

Still, what happens if what is witnessed is on an even larger scale? In both situations described, sure a major violation occurred, but no one was hurt. What if someone is getting hurt?

You would be amazed at how many co-workers would remain silent in both situations as well as what I am about to describe. Too many people fear their own job security and are unwilling to speak up over unethical activity.

In my last position I just held, I witnessed contractors around me being treated as workers. You might ask why this is even a concern. Allow me to elaborate:

As a Lead Auditor I was in charge of assessing employer-employee relationships. This means that an independent contractor was given a 1099, but had too much direction and control over him/her and “personal labor was the essence of the contract.” In those situations, once I made the assessment on one contractor, that whole firm would then go under audit (backdated three years), and all of the firm’s contractors would be evaluated. If they were all deemed as “workers” and not truly contractors, the Department would assess back-taxes that should have been paid on those workers that would often equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If that firm did not pay, their account would go into Collections (the division I started in with the Department). If their account remained unpaid, then the Department would file liens against the owners’ homes, seize their assets, and even take money straight from their bank accounts.

Now, let’s go back to the future, and look at the situation I was just in. All around me, contractors were given 1099 but treated as workers. Personal labor was the essence of their contract. They had their own equipment and place of business, but were not allowed to use them. They were required to come into the agency’s location, use the agency’s equipment, and also had to keep time sheets. They were not allowed to work on state holidays. They were not allowed sick or vacation leave. They were not only directed in what tasks to do, but in how to accomplish them. They were not allowed normal break times, but were checked up on frequently if they even took a ten minute break to use the restroom and get a cup of coffee.

I could go on about the different ways their contracts, state and federal laws were violated. The bottom line is that there is a definite violation, and had the Department looked at this situation as it had at other firms in the public, there would have been hefty fines.

Yet, in this situation, this is internal fraud. Here you have one part of the agency showing a heavy hand of the law on businesses. Over this little thing we call an “employer-employee relationship,” the Department has taken huge legal action to “educate” businesses on their “reporting requirements.” And yet, internally, it has turned a blind eye and not upheld the same standards.

I knew too much from my prior position. I had the knowledge, I knew it was wrong, and I was given a choice: remain silent or speak up. If I remained silent, I wouldn’t make any waves and I would still have a place on the team. If I spoke up, however, I might even jeopardize the contractors’ positions. If I spoke up, they could get targeted and even black-balled from other agencies.

I had to weigh the consequences. By not speaking up, I would be allowing the Department to spit in the face of taxpayers, business owners and contractors. By not speaking up, I would be allowing them to continue to abuse contractors and continue on in hypocrisy and misuse of taxpayer funds.

By speaking up, I might even lose my own job. I had to decide what price I would put on ethics. I decided to speak up.

I am now in a different unit, still meeting with internal auditors and investigators, and still seeking employment in the private sector (to get out of politics). I have kept my word and not gone to the press yet. I am waiting to see if the process will work.

I write this anonymously under a pen name because I must keep silent from where I am at now. There is heavy retaliation against me. My reputation has been slandered and marred. Many false allegations have been brought up against me and many awful (and untrue) rumors have been spread about me.

This is what happens when you speak up for truth. It is unpleasant and very difficult to walk through. In the end, however, I feel victory.

I’m a soldier in the War on Ethics here at home. Because of soldiers like me who work behind-the-scenes and take a stand for integrity, our government has not gone completely corrupt.

The minute good people stop taking a stand for what is right, however, and turn a blind eye to things like this… well, that is when you begin to lose your freedoms here at home. Your freedoms will not be gone in the blink of an eye. Rather, our country is like a frog being boiled slowly over time. We do not realize our freedoms have been snatched from us until it’s too late. Too many people feared their own retirement and paycheck, too many people were silent, and too many simply gave up.

Are you willing to fight the good fight? Are you willing to take your place in our ranks? State and Federal government is in need of a few good men and women. When the cost is high and you could lose it all, are you willing to lay down your life? My husband and countless others do this every day in the military. Yet, we creatures of comfort are so unwilling to go the same length in our workplace when the bloodshed is political and not physical.

Come fight the unseen fight with me. The War on Ethics rages on.