Yes you are missing something. There are lunatics who believe that fighting the government is equivalent to attacking some random employee. So these laws are intended to curb that urge. These attacks are not directed at any particular person but the government as symbolized by said person.
Mixing political soundbites or euphemism with the original philosophy at the Founding won’t take you very far in supplying the missing either.
And yes my life has been blessed in many respects and for that I am thankful.
Your argument is silly, and does nothing to establish a special case for Federal employees. There are all sorts of lunatics.
For instance, by analogy (though I would have reversed the order of the sentence to make the argument more coherent): There may be lunatics who believe that fighting the Capitalists is equivalent to attacking some random employee, therefore the need to enact a whole separate set of laws “intended to curb that urge.”
Or: There may be lunatics who believe that fighting the Church is equivalent to attacking some random parishioner, hence the need for a whole separate set of laws “intended to curb that urge.”
Or: There may also be lunatics who believe that fighting the Steelers is equivalent to attaching some random fan, hence the need for laws “intended to curb that urge.”
Please curb yourself if you can't present better “soundbites and euphemisms.”
I expect better at FR. Sheesh.