With national elections nearly upon us, it’s time to talk about who are the best politicians. (Sorry, I’m not supporting any particular candidate in this post, just representative democracy.)
The best US representatives and senators are those who are invisible yet competent when the elections are over and our people in Washington DC must knuckle down and do the jobs for which they’ve been elected. Most of our legislators don’t and can’t satisfy this criterion! Neither can our elected executives nor judges. Few judges can judge competently, few legislators can legislate competently, and few executives can execute competently. Moreover, too many politicians are incompetent because they’re motivated by greed and power.
And trying to change that motivation toward just becoming that rare “servant of the people” seems to have become an impossible task for American democracy. Executives are notorious for being driven by greed and power, of course (why else would Donald Jackass Trump run for president?); and our legal system, that doesn’t seem to have much to do with justice, seems to fail when it attempts to control these base desires that have plagued human beings for millennia. But our legal system often fails miserably in policing itself as well! (Are our fascist SCOTUS judges’ crimes—that is, for example, Alito and Thomas’s—any less damning than the NYC mayor’s?)
But VIP legislators are often in positions where the sins of the powerful can do more damage to their constituents if only because it seems easier for them to commit their crimes. From frauds and sexual perversions to outright treason (supporting the attempt of that “f&^%ing moron” to stage a coup, for example), they betray the voters’ trust in so many ways that a gangster might shake his head…and/or be envious!
Democracy has always been corrupt–you know the adage about power and corruption–the US’s from the top down now more than ever before, from many holding the office of president down to local school boards. (Just think of the juicy contracts local politicians hand out!) Our problem is at least two-fold: We don’t know how to control the graft and grift, and our increasing apathy prevents us from acting anyway. Let’s face it: Many people are more interested in who wins the World Series or Super Bowl! They’ll pull a lever on Election Day…maybe…, but that’s the only day they’ll be at all concerned about politics. Women are better citizens in that regard because they’ve been kept down by men for so long. The world might be better off if women were in charge, but they can be a bit too caring at times, bless them! (I have to believe that Alito and Thomas’s mums were much better people than their sons. And isn’t it about time we had a female POTUS?)
In a representative democracy like ours, the problems associated with greed and power become exacerbated. The Founding Fathers even at the beginning had to grapple with those problems because they created a representative democracy. Their solutions were far from optimum in critical cases. Examples of their failures can be seen in their creating the Senate and Electoral College and a SCOTUS that could so easily become a fascist junta because its members aren’t elected and have life terms (unfortunately these are never in prison).
The Founding Fathers were driven by greed and power as well! (It was just that old George was worse!) But we can’t put all the blame on them. What they created can be improved and modified, but it’s difficult. So our elections have become mostly popularity contests, because the people’s representatives prefer insults and mudslinging to discussions of issues and policies. A representative democracy is doomed if its representatives aren’t competent and responsible. And that’s exactly where the US is right now! The people’s representatives are generally incompetent and irresponsible…and it’s only getting worse! Make me a believer again! Support the anti-Trump movement and honest representative democracy that works for the American people!