Maybe you have to be an "old guy" to remember David Halberstam's book, The Best And The Brightest. I qualify. I not only remember the book, I also remember the war it was written about. It was written about the "Vietnam War," for those who are not among the "old guy" contingent.
My quick summary of the Halberstam book follows: The so-called "best and the brightest" totally failed to lead the nation away from a quagmire in Vietnam that never should have happened. The "Best And The Brightest" designation was intended to be highly ironic.
Well, maybe somebody should slip the word to Andrew Hall, a professor at Stanford. In a June, 2024 presentation to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Hall bemoans the fact that the nation is failing to attract the "best and the brightest" into running for public office:
The ability to elect leaders is a privilege that many people throughout history — and some still today — could only dream of. Yet, even in a representative democracy, the choice that citizens have is often only as good as the candidates they have to choose from. That’s why professor of political economy Andrew B. Hall wonders: How do we get society’s best and brightest to participate in politics?
Hall teaches in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford, which perhaps explains (though I don't think excuses) his main suggestion: Pay those politicians more!
Check out the financial status of those who serve in the United States Congress. There are many, many millionaires among them. In fact, it often appears that those seeking to be elected to Congress run for office in order to make money. That's probably a little harsh, but there may be some truth to it.
If we don't like the kind of government we're getting, I think we need to start with the people who are being represented, not with those who are, or who might be, their representatives.
Our current system gives voters a choice of candidates largely selected of, by, and for the elite (meaning those with a lot of money). Until ordinary voters decide that they want to spend more time on politics themselves (meaning less time on their other activities) this will continue to be the case. The antidote to dissatisfaction with our elected representatives is to: (1) Get organized; (2) Elect "representatives" who will actually represent those organized voters who will then be determining what politics delivers, instead of looking at the choices offered, and then staying home. I don't think, unfortunately, that there is any "shortcut." If we want to have a functioning and representative system of "self-government," then we will have to get involved ourselves.
Our problem, in my opinion, isn't getting more of the elite, the "best and the brightest," involved in politics. Our problem is in getting more of us involved - the ordinary folks for whom our system of "self-government" is supposed to be working.
In other words: if you don't like our politics (raise your hand if you agree), then you had better get involved with a small group of people dedicated to changing them.
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