Months ago someone suggested I run for office. I smiled thinking “a fart in a tornado has better odds.” But others repeated the suggestion. All my instinct says bad idea. I have respect for the business of government, but for things “political” my emotion is disappointment to disgust. There is too little common between me and political persons. Have I been so bad to deserve punishment severe as having to endure them on a regular basis? It’s bad enough from a distance. Up close it has to be intolerable.
However, the subject of public office is worthy. I do not share the typical politician’s view of government’s role in making people happy. The Constitution leaves that goal to individual pursuit. That is where it belongs because the result of government trying to make-happy has often the opposite effect.
My personal efforts to make me happy are not a total triumph. There is no reason to believe that any politician attempting this will be any more successful. (A great many politicians could achieve mass happiness by going away and never coming back. They insist, however, on hanging about. In pity, we elect them again in much the same way one welds scrap onto a garden ornament in an attempt to get some use from what is otherwise worthless.) Leave pursuit of happiness to “the people” who are better served with government working to meet shared public needs.
Unlike many politicians I have no belief in free money. Free money only means another layer of costs and consequences. The free gift of a 100-room mansion would strap most of us to living in its smallest room heating it by candle. High infrastructure costs lead to feeding facilities at the sacrifice of workers or program. Expansion is to be resisted because of its added costs and its consequences. Unless your funds are unlimited or you believe in free money, a new expense here results in having less to meet needs there. Short-sighted, free money tactics default to this giving us death’s own kiss to good government.
Another lethal part of politics is popularity. If we elect popular entertainers, salesmen, and promoters we will get increases in what they do best which is to pile one scheme after the other until we are elbows deep in hoopla that slowly cheapens our regard for the serious work of managing the public interest for the public good.
If we want good government we need better politicians, ones who have worked at something more involved than peddling promises. People who have skill and dedication are, however, usually too busy being good at what they do to have time for office. We end up with the leftovers in office doing their best to demonstrate the incompetence that makes them ill-suited for much else.
Our habit of electing likeable people is also part of the problem because a likeable person is often too “nice” to dig deep and ask tough questions that thrash the fluff from sweet proposals until the base truth shows. I’ve seen enough popular politicians doing popular things promoted by ego and backed by charm. For better government management, we need tougher officials demanding it.
Instead of promotion and rah-rah I want to see political leaders relentlessly critical and questioning of everything that comes before them. They are entrusted with looking out for the public interest and money— sacred trusts that don’t need pom-poms and promises. I want to see dedication to effective and efficient conduct of government business. Government’s main work is not promotion. The Chambers of Commerce and tourism associations do that. Letting them do so allows government to do its job first, attending to special interests second.
The Roman Republic had many flaws, but it held public office a sacred duty equal to respect for the gods. We need not follow the Roman model, but duty of office holders to honor the gods is much preferred over office holders thinking they are the gods.
Harry Drabik
Hovland
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