The Morning After

The former Soviet Union (USSR) had an immense stockpile of nuclear weapons and radioactive material distributed in several places in Russia and the 15 countries that formed the USSR. Some of those nuclear weapons and materials were loosely controlled. With the collapse of the central government in 1991, there was concern that those weapons might be sold to or stolen by the wrong kind of people.

Indiana’s U.S. Senator Richard Lugar performed a very important role in gaining control of those “loose nucs.” Humanity owes a measure of gratitude to Senator Lugar. The long-serving and highly respected senator stood for re-election in 2012. In the previous election, Senator Lugar gained 86 percent of the votes. But in 2012, his own political party defeated him in the primary! Welcome to a “tea party.” We are now suffering from the morning after hangover that the “tea party” politics initiated.

The Indiana “tea party” was financed, in part, by the wealthy Koch brothers. The Koch brothers did not reside in Indiana. The Koch brother’s father built petroleum refineries for Russia’s Joseph Stalin and for Germany’s Adolf Hitler. His sons, Charles and David Koch, American citizens, developed radical political views. Charles and David Koch financed many radical political activities, and they formed Americans for Prosperity—theirs, presumably. Americans for Prosperity gave a boost to the nascent “tea party,” that unseated Senator Lugar in the primary contest.

Political interventions by people and organizations with money have become a standard practice, and that does not promote good government. Publicity is not a good substitute for character, experience, or policy. In a high school of modern size, typical students will know the names of their friends and a few other students they meet in classes or athletics, but they will not know the names of most of the students in their high school. But then there is the student who “moons” the crowd at the Saturday night football game. Every student in school will know his name. Politicians have picked up on this phenomenon. Political stunts and bizarre statements gain free national publicity and a lot of it. But that process doesn’t contribute to our well-being. The political process should address solutions for society’s problems.

Many military people and federal government employees are subjected to rigorous background investigations. Why not do the same for political candidates?

We have been through a period of political divisiveness, but that behavior does not solve the problems that we face or will face in the future. In our modern complex world, most solutions require teamwork and extensive financing by government or corporations. “Rugged individualism” is mostly history. We are in a new era. Cooperation, negotiation, and teamwork are required to solve most problems.

Let us begin the new year with a new attitude.