How Not To Elect Wackos

photo by Paolo Nicollelo on unsplash

Why do we elect wackos to govern us? I’m not going to mention any names, but I think you know what the hell I’m talking about. It's not just the tippy top. There are more sociopaths in the Congress and Senate than even lawyers taken as a group. So far, the general public has used criteria such as a prestigious career or the accumulation of money to prove that someone is sane and responsible. That is not necessarily the case. Why do we put up with this haphazard, hit-or-miss method? It can be done a better way. It has to be done a better way, or democracy and our individual wealth and freedoms are at risk. This is how it can be done. 

What if there was an agency that all it did was qualify people for whatever political office they aspire to? What if that agency was above reproach, having the top psychologists, psychiatrists, and law enforcement personnel as their retained consultants? 

A candidate for office goes there, in secret, and takes a slew of exams, written and oral, to determine a minimum of intelligence, moral fiber, and sanity qualifying him or her for the job. The public results are a simple pass or fail. There is no competition or ranking. If they pass it is, of course, announced to the public and included in political ads. If they fail, they slink back into the woodwork they oozed out of and nobody ever knows. Who sets the bar for the pass or fail? One could start with the civil service exam and add a few more mental and emotional exercises. It wouldn't have to be a high bar to be an improvement over what we have now. 

How simple is that? Pretty soon, the public will understand if their candidate does not brag about passing these tests there may be something seriously wrong. 

This should be a non-government, non-profit agency funded by the public so that it does not owe any allegiance to partisan politics. Eventually, it will be the standard for running for office. Bad actors looking to line their pockets or to accumulate power for power’s sake will know they can’t even participate in the process because they can’t pass the exams. It would cut through all the brain washing and fake news and paid-for lies on TV, radio, and the internet. It would get to the root of the problem. Are the people running for office honest and sane?

The U.S. used to be the greatest country on Earth, keeping check on evil and tyranny around the world. Now we just watch it and nod. The Soviets have notions of world domination again. The Saudis feel they can kill major journalists on a whim and get away with it. China can abduct and hold the head of Interpol for vague, unfounded reasons. North Korea is once again doing its nuclear rain dance for future goodies that go mainly to Kim Jong Un. The Venezuelan government just throws people it doesn’t like out of tall buildings. 

Not only is the world going to shit, the U.S. is in worse shape. We’ve hocked our country and given the proceeds to the wealthy. We won’t be able to get it out of the pawn shop without paying trillions and trillions of dollars. Now they are talking about doing away with social services to pay for another round of tax cuts for the wealthy because they feel like the public might finally be catching on and throw them out of office. The inequality between haves and have nots in the U.S. is now the worst since the dawn of civilization 10,000 years ago. Think about that. Worse than the Egyptians and slaves. Worse than the kings and serfs of the middle ages. Here! The United States of America!

Given this sad state of affairs, would it be too much to ask to determine if our future politicians, the ones that lead us and make our laws, are vetted as if our country depended upon them? Would it be too much to ask that we be sure that some immoral psycho doesn’t get into office and wield power over us?

How hard can it be to form a small non-profit corporation with a few employees doing the most important job in the United States of America - keeping you, me, and the rest of us safe from our own leaders.