One of the primary traps that people fall into is hubris. Politicians benefit from an image of wisdom and virtue. Anything that suggests otherwise is therefore counterproductive to their career. On the other hand, they are quick to seize on the shortcomings of their competitors and vice versa. If you constantly focus only on your successes, while ignoring and covering up your shortcomings, you may start to believe that you have the only correct answer to everything and that you are smarter than everyone else is.

Politicians are always spouting off about their plans to fix the mess their colleagues (with their concurrence or collaboration) have made of things while proclaiming the success of their connivance’s. In the process they lose site of their fallibility and start believe their own marketing hyperbole. The result is the arrogant aristocracy that currently is imposing its will on us.

Several solutions have been proposed. But like any solution to a social problem, the intended target finds a way around it. Term limits seem promising, and has worked for the presidency. But, lower level politicians have turned the election process into a career escalator that ignores competency and rewards public relations prowess. Public education worked for a while, but the schools have been so sabotaged by political intrigue, that critical thinking is a dying skill. Students learn about diversity and niceness instead of learning to read and think for themselves. Patriotism and belief in the equality of man worked for some of the founding fathers but the self interest of political hacks overcame high ideals a long time ago.

So, Tom was right. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Now it is time to look beyond the aristocracy for our public servants. We must elect people who know what is right and who are foolish enough to pursue and promote it. We must seek people willing to serve instead of lead, to represent instead of rule. And that is why I am running for U.S. Senator for Nevada in the Democrat primary.