The problem with politics as war
The dangerous link between political rhetoric and real-world attacks.
For years, I avoided answering one question while serving as a local elected official.
“Would you do it again?”
The “it” being running for office.
I usually reframed the question:
If you’re asking if I regret it, the answer is no.
“However, if you’re asking whether—knowing what I know now—I would run for office, the answer is no. I couldn’t, in good conscience, do it.”
If I ever decide to write a book on my time in politics, I’ll go into greater detail, but the gist is summed up fairly well in this statement, which I’ve shared on numerous occasions:
“I effectively traded friends for votes; the tradeoff was not commensurate.”
In my latest Dallas Morning News column I share how the rise in political violence is likely to cost our communities some of the best leaders, most of whom will choose not to run. The risk-to-reward ratio is brutal—too much cost, too little gain.
The following is an excerpt of my DMN column:
“The recent killing of a Democratic state representative and her husband in Minnesota — and the wounding of another lawmaker and his wife — sent a chill through the nation, putting political violence back on the front page. But for elected officials, including those in supposedly nonpartisan local roles, the news hit like a freight train, stirring anger, concern and, in Celina council member Wendie Wigginton’s case, resolve.
“I know elected officials across the country are feeling this pain deeply,” Wigginton said. “While the presence of evil is something we’ve always had to face, I believe it’s more important than ever for leaders to stand strong, rise above fear, and stay focused on doing what’s best for the people who’ve placed their trust in us.”
“Before social media, local officials mostly worried about blowback over taxes, zoning, infrastructure and the like. Now, in the always-online era, any issue can be localized and inflamed, drawing outrage from thousands of miles away.
“Experts cite a volatile mix of hyperpartisanship, disinformation and eroding trust in institutions as fuel for today’s threats. The targets aren’t simply national figures anymore; school board members, city council members and election workers are caught in the crossfire as well.”
Quote of the week
“I just think the Democrats have to learn the lesson, the obvious lesson of the presidential election in 2024, which is that the far left activist class of the party has no advice worth listening to, right? Their concerns are bogus.
Their convictions are scarcely sane. They have to be ignored, right? I mean, all, you know, I view Harris' loss as overdetermined, but she clearly lost based on her efforts to maintain something like a game of four-dimensional chess with woke identity politics, right?” —Sam Harris, on The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway: The Collapse of American Trust.