What Do Elected Officials Sign Up For And How Does Environment Affect Them?

Chris Dungan
3 min readJan 28, 2021

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Would Noem be different if in Alaska?

Photo by Zhu Liang on Unsplash

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem championed freedom (or, as some would call it, greed) with an intrepidness unthinkable in sophisticated enclaves where so many would depend on government for instructions and sustenance.

Of course, she has received a great deal of criticism for dwelling on such antiquated ideas as weighing economic costs, child development and having any trust that non-indentured citizens can propose and resolve compromises with having their efforts vetted by the likes of Andrew Cuomo, since the majority of residents of his state’s nursing homes — or who couldn’t get vaccines before they expired — did not die from Covid.

Maybe the high death rate deserves more concern. Maybe it would receive it if there weren’t so many reports of leaders fearing death at the expense of other effects, or of the politicization of death rates. Or suspicion that opinions not favored by the elites wasn’t being suppressed — or ignored. I’ve found few mainstream challenges of the findings posted on rationalground.com.

But despite all the positive or negative attention we might be inclined to dole out to politicians based on their allegiance to (or ignorance of) our ideologies, what else drives them?

It’s easy for civil libertarians to point to a hands-off state with pride — or, if you’re in Michigan, with a longing for a prior century. I’m sure that historic image in all walks of life calls to mind misanthropes who so take their blue-eyed privilege for granted that they’re willing to look the other way just for a little nostalgia. I would ask, as an exercise, that they consider the possibility that fair-skinned people who don’t crave Soviet control would prefer a free society and freedom from discrimination, and are at worst ignorant of any conventional wisdom that has declared those goals incompatible.

In any case, let us not forget that few candidates, especially in rural areas, sign up expecting a decade like the 2020s.

I’m sure freedom-loving leaders could do without namecalling by the elites who apparently want to instill fear (if only for ratings), but do they also crave adulation for standing for liberty or their party?

Or do they just think they’re doing right by their people?

If so, why do they harbor that belief? Polls? Religion? Knowing personally what their neighbors and families think? What they believe the economic — or social — damage will be?

Would they have the same beliefs if they were in a culturally very different part of the country? If so, would they have to move to a more compatible population to get elected? Or would they just decide politics isn’t for them if they want to stay with their hometown and family?

I don’t have political aspirations, but I know that just because I reside in a deeply blue state doesn’t mean I should be assumed to be a collectivist or one whose definition of civil rights might appear to prioritize “checking all the boxes” over due process for all.

I could say the same of the opposite case, of actual or would-be politicians with a sincere desire to call attention to the struggles of certain groups of people but who live amongst traditionalists who, for better or worse, are indifferent. I might have sympathy for both sides in that situation, depending on the details.

My point is not to persuade others, against their considerations, what sides to be on. But while civilized society takes for granted notions of respect for those we disagree with, I submit there may be less awareness of how people’s inclinations may have benefited from circumstances or where their families — in whatever roundabout way — happened to settle.

Not (of course) that this should prevent us from trying to avert policies we sincerely believe to be disastrous. In fact, it might make it easier to find any possible win-win.

I would add, the same can apply to public figures who perhaps fit too well with their surroundings. While very liberal activists and administrators get a lot more support here in California than in rural areas, the people I’m acquainted with generally believe they overplay their hands, which can lead to other problems for them, even if they seem successful at getting elected for their platforms — for now.

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Chris Dungan

The biggest problem and achievement of this L.A. based data scientist and sociologist is melding so many interests into unique career steps.