All of the worker bees at every level of government contributes to our civilization and standard of life in some form. Roads must be maintained or our economy tanks. Parks are essential to protecting wilderness and outdoor recreation areas for everyone. Wildlife folks are essential to protecting fish and wildlife, both game and non-game. There are people working to ensure that we have clean air, water, and soil so that we don't have to live in each other's shit and garbage. Laws are enforced to protect these things plus everything that embodies "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". The people who do these things, as has been pointed out, are humans, with human frailties and foibles, but the overwhelming majority do their honest best.
I was once lectured at length by a libertarian relative who contends that all laws are unnecessary impediments to absolute personal freedom. In his world there should be no environmental laws, we should let the free market work out what level of pollution we all must accept. All roads would be toll ways to pay for their construction and maintenance, there would be no public education, no public utilities, no government at all, so that he could exercise his total freedom unconditionally, without any obligations to society. He ranted about me being on the government tit my whole career and that I had a cushy job funded by poor, put upon taxpayers. It was discouraging, but he's not why I did (recently retired) what I did, anyway. I did it for my kids and their future, and all of those who do appreciate the work being done on their behalf.
I, too, was and am fairly compensated. My job did have some leisurely days, and I got a very nice vacation package. There were also long days and nights of work, and a lot of stress. I know that a lot of people are in similar situations in both the public and the private sector, so that doesn't make me special. I'm still proud of being a small part of something bigger than me that exists for a purpose other than just to move money from one account to another.