A former deputy mayor, police chief, and CNN commentator argues that our nation’s public servants are not part of some conspiratorial deep state but rather the best hope for preserving democracy in a time of poisonous hyper-partisanship.

When those we elect descend into partisan tribalism, criminal malfeasance, and emulation of foreign autocracies and oligarchies, Cedric Alexander says it is the unelected apolitical fourth branch of government–our nation’s public servants, civil servants, and first responders–that must save the nation.

These people do not constitute a nefarious deep state pursuing a hidden agenda. They are the analysts, scientists, lawyers, accountants, educators, consultants, enforcers of regulations, and first responders of every kind who keep the country running and its people safe. To the general public, many of these 22 million people remain invisible and their contributions hidden. But it’s time to make the invisible visible. Alexander recounts the evolution of the professional civil service as an antidote to widespread cronyism, offers examples of how it has served as a bulwark against powerful corrupting influences, and describes the role it can play in bringing our badly divided society together.