Notes from the underground

With apologies to Dostoevsky. Let's examine the view upward in the rarefied air of international leadership and see if we may ascertain why many of the world's leaders are, in fact, nimrods

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how little regard I (and, I daresay, others) have for many of the world’s most powerful leaders. In our country, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden represent the flip sides of awful, and they got elected. In many other places around the world, autocratic leaders are very hard to displace once they gain power by whatever means. I understand that a lot better. It baffles me how, in countries where people actually do have choices (like our own), leaders ascend who are far from the best that humanity has to offer. It’s perplexing. It’s also distressingly common.

I had some friends from Europe visit this week. They are educated members of the professional class and are well-versed in current events. As we sat in my living room late one night, we embarked on a survey of world leaders from major countries that we admired. The list that we came up with had a single name: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the 6th President of Ukraine, previously known as a popular actor and comedian.

When the United States offered to spirit Zelenskyy out of Ukraine in the early days of the now-19-month conflict with Russia, which everyone assumed would be a rout with Ukraine on the losing end, Zelenskyy famously replied that he didn’t need a ride; he needed more ammo. There’s a leader for you. Can you imagine Joe Biden or Donald Trump sticking around in a war zone to lead by example when the threat of being overrun is very real? Can you imagine either Trump or Biden firing officials for corruption instead of just political expediency?

If you can, your imagination is better than mine and those of my friends who assembled in my living room a few nights ago.

Extremism certainly plays a role in this. The United States is not the only country in the world where the reasonable middle of the social spectrum is poorly represented by political parties. But there’s more to it, I think, than just that. There is an element of neglect. The more capable humanity has become at addressing fundamental issues universally involved in human well-being: hunger, thirst, sanitation, employment, public safety, education, and basic infrastructure, the less appreciative a lot of people who don’t understand the value and accomplishment of all of this happen to be.

I frequently marvel at the wonders that humanity has accomplished in the relatively short amount of time that civilizations have existed. We’ve established systems of law and social order, and we’ve figured out how to provide for most human needs. One need not go looking for supper with the shin bone of an antelope. We have drugs and surgery instead of leeches for the treatment of disease.

But familiarity often breeds contempt. And when I look around, I see an awful lot of people who, short of getting all that they want, are ready to burn everything down and remake the world anew in their own image. I guess that you have to have experienced firsthand what it’s like to have nothing in front of you but a steep climb and not a lot of rope in order to fear it.

As I write all of this down, it occurs to me that one might get the impression that I know what to do about any of this. I do not. Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth. All that I have to share in this regard is my own bewilderment. All I know is that we need to up our game or reap what we’ve sown for far too long.

Responsible people who are good at things, wise, and have a rational worldview tend to not have a lot of unaccounted-for time. If you are good, you are probably busy making the world a better place. That leaves a lot of political and social decision-making to people who are none of the above. That just won’t do.

I think that it comes down to the fact that everyone needs to take an interest in politics and social order, not just people who are pissed off. The more people there are without an immediate axe to grind—those who can see things untainted by anger or self-interest and still take an interest in public affairs—the better off we are all likely to be.

Associated Press and Idaho Press Club-winning columnist Martin Hackworth of Pocatello is a physicist, writer, and retired Idaho State University faculty member who now spends his time with family, riding bicycles and motorcycles, and arranging and playing music. Follow him on Twitter @MartinHackworth