Why Don’t Elected Officials Read!

Our elected officials don’t read!

At times it is painfully obvious that county and municipal representatives are not prepared for their meetings. They have the barest of grasps on subjects that are explained in their agenda packets. As an observer, you know when one of them is faking it or not. That lack of knowledge and intellectual curiosity isn’t something that bodes well for making good decisions.

The United States doesn’t foster a culture of knowledge. As school children, we don’t want to be recognized as the nerd in the class. We admire the jock but seldom the scholar. The popular crowd are the ones that read the Cliff Notes. The geek is the one with his nose buried in the actual text or book.

This carries over into our adult life. Politicians usually rise from the popular crowd and seldom the geeks. It makes sense because politicians want to be liked and adored. Academics tend to not care so much about popularity but more about a factual conclusion drawn on reasonable assumptions. Who would get elected? In our media-obsessed world, knowledge is not always cherished. That wasn’t always true.

Ten presidents could speak classical Greek: Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Tyler, Polk, Buchanan, Hayes, Arthur, and Garfield. Garfield could write in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other at the same time. Twelve presidents could converse in Latin. Hoover could speak Mandarin. FDR was the last American Chief Executive who was fluent in a foreign language, in both French and German.