Serving one’s country is a time-honored American tradition, one that is central to the concept of an American government envisioned by our Founders: a nation led by those governed.

Abraham Lincoln captured it best in his Gettysburg Address, describing ours as a “government, of the people, by the people, and for the people.” The “by the people” part means active participation in our government by our citizenry.

How do we participate? By voting, of course, the first and most important responsibility of American citizens. Furthermore, one of our three equal branches of federal government is our legislature — the U.S. Congress — with 100% of its power exercised by elected representatives.

But our Founders also anticipated — and they demonstrated — the concept of active participation in local, state, and federal government by citizens willing to step away from their day jobs. This often entailed personal hardship and economic disadvantage, but it was meant to give back to the country that had enriched their lives.

George Washington himself, a successful planter dedicated to his family and his beloved Virginia, answered the call. When asked by the Continental Congress in 1775 to serve as commander-in-chief of the fledgling Continental Army, he did so, and he then took on the exceedingly dangerous task of leading that army in a war of revolution against England, the superpower of the era. Upon succeeding in that near-impossible task, he took on the next enormous challenge of that time: serving as president of the new nation.

Washington’s example of answering the call of duty has been replicated, time and again, throughout our nation’s 240-year history. Every member of our all-volunteer Armed Forces has answered the call. And while much of our government’s leadership is provided by career politicians (a term unheard of at the birth of our nation), some are not.

President Donald Trump spent the lion’s share of his professional life as a businessman — his first foray into elected politics came at the age of 69 when he threw his hat in the ring for the 2016 presidential election. Notice also that over half of his appointments for cabinet-level and other senior positions are persons whose predominant professional experience is in areas other than government.

And of those, none is a more remarkable gift to the nation than Elon Musk — the world’s richest man (self-made fortune) and arguably the smartest and most accomplished person on the planet. Musk’s extraordinary achievements include: building (from scratch, and with no experience) the world’s most successful electric vehicle manufacturing company (Tesla); creating a commercially viable venture for space exploration (SpaceX), currently running circles around our own NASA; founding a cutting-edge neurological research and development firm (Neuralink) well on its way to finding a way to restore functionality to those afflicted with previously incurable conditions such as total paralysis; and his satellite internet service (Starlink), which has provided vitally needed communications in areas affected by natural and man-made disasters (western North Carolina, Los Angeles, and Ukraine). How’s that for a résumé?!

The notion that Musk, the world’s present-day Leonardo da Vinci, would step aside from his own hugely demanding endeavors and accede (for no pay) to the president’s request that he take on the job of organizing and managing the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — an operation that may prove to be a critically important undertaking of the Trump administration — is simply remarkable.

And what is equally remarkable is the disgraceful reaction to Musk’s participation in that new initiative by Trump’s political opponents and their ideological supporters.

Polls show that Musk is now the most disliked member of the Trump administration, garnering an even lower public approval rating than his widely detested boss. While it can be comical to listen to intellectual lightweights like Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) refer to Musk as an “idiot,” their behavior is not funny. The new legions of Musk haters fervently want his DOGE efforts to fail, and they have incited (or tacitly endorsed) an active campaign to destroy his business empire — fire-bombing and vandalizing Tesla dealerships, random shootings, and even targeting Tesla owners (curiously, most of whom purchased Musk’s EVs in support of the Left’s green energy crusade).

Make no mistake: The Left’s hatred of Elon Musk transcends their supposed devotion to climate protection, their oft-expressed concern about the government waste, fraud, and abuse (and its impact on our national debt), and their own previously warm embrace of Musk and his achievements. Their newfound hatred of Musk is driven by one factor alone — their hatred of Donald Trump and their corresponding opposition to any and all Trump actions, no matter how beneficial to the nation.

Last week, Musk announced that he is stepping back from full-time leadership of DOGE, as anticipated. The mindless numskulls of the Left jeered and cheered enthusiastically — as if the loss of this incomparable resource is somehow good news for America.

Yes, their hatred is appalling.

As for the rest of us: We thank you, Elon, for your service and wish you Godspeed.