Where Did the Independent Leaders Go?

 

“Am I alone in finding the current political landscape bleak? Everywhere I turn, I find ambiguity, ambivalence and antipathy. What are we to think of artificial intelligence? Will it be the death of us or a greater boon than the internet? There are no political leaders I find admirable. By contrast, there are many outright villains on the scene, among them the various levels of Iranian leadership, and the wilder of the Democratic Socialists of America and their compatriots.

 

As for members of Congress, only John Fetterman stands out as independent. The rest are lined up irretrievably on their side of the aisle, emerging merely to babble the party line. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana is notable for his comic similes, but not much else. I stopped listening to Bernie Sanders years ago. When he does speak on television I shut out his words and follow his endlessly moving hands. I shall be glad to see Dick Durbin, one of my senators, retire after more than 40 years in office. I won't miss his countless platitudes delivered in a voice of the deepest solemnity conveying moral superiority.

 

No, if originality of thought is what you seek, it won't be found in Congress, where sorry shibboleths are the order of the day. I should be glad to see all of them retire and succeeded, doubtless, by fresh cliche-mongers.

 

How did this come about? Some would blame Donald Trump, whose ready recourse to invective has doubtless intensified our sad political situation. Though as H.L. Mencken, who died in 1956 when Mr. Trump was 9, prophesied, "on some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

 

Never high on politicians, Mencken also wrote that "if a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents he would promise them missionaries for dinner."

 

And this: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."

 

Would climate change and AI be among these hobgoblins today? How about the rise of the socialists in the Democratic Party? Has politics degraded to little more than keeping Americans agitated? So it often seems.

 

Aristotle wrote that "he is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue  throughout a complete life." That virtuous life for Aristotle was marked by finding the mean, or happy medium, when confronted with rivaling claims.

 

The happy medium is what is missing from our political life. "My way or the highway" might suffice as the current slogan for both political parties. A cold place, the highway, providing little comfort, either physical or spiritual. But that is where many Americans seem to find ourselves now.

 

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Mr. Epstein is author, most recently, of "Never Say You've Had a Lucky Life."” [1]

 

1. Where Did the Independent Leaders Go? Epstein, Joseph.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 05 Oct 2026: A15.