Power to the Ignorant

Demos kratos – Greek for democracy, or rule by the people. Res publica – Latin for public affair, referring to a state that represents the people. The classical civilizations seemed optimistic enough in their structural experiments that they failed to come up with a term for rule by the ignorant. Thus, to fit the Trump administration, I propose a new Greek-based term to describe this administration, agnoia kratos, or literally, power to the ignorant.

President Trump has frighteningly forgone intellectualism in his cabinet choices. While I fundamentally disagree with many of the right’s policy minds, I’m confident in their ability to execute their duties. By and large, George W. Bush’s cabinet, while destructive, knew what they were doing. However, it appears Trump doesn’t care about ability at all.

Look, for example, at his pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. It would make sense to pick somebody for such an important post who has extensive experience in the field. However, Betsy DeVos never attended public schools, sent her kids there, or worked in public education. She is known as an advocate for private charter schools, which is the extent of her educational experience. How can somebody with zero public school experience run a department devoted to public education? All the downsides of charter schools aside, DeVos clearly doesn’t know what she is talking about. Her senate testimony was concerning, especially when she used a false anecdote about bear protection to justify allowing guns in schools or when she couldn’t discern between ‘growth’ and ‘proficiency’. Astoundingly, she did not know something McGill Education students probably learn in their first class.

How dangerous can this really be? Well, the Department of Education controlled a budget of $68.1 billion dollars in FY 2016. This department has a broad mandate including funding programs for students with disabilities, providing grants to impoverished schools, and ensuring equality in access to education. This is no trifling matter, concerning millions of students nationwide, but Trump seems to treat it that way.

Don’t even get me started on his choice for Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who once forgot during a presidential debate that the Department of Energy existed. Mind you, he was listing off the departments he would eliminate, which is cause for concern considering he now will run the Department of Energy. During his confirmation hearing, it was apparent that Perry is not an expert in the mold of Obama’s energy secretary, MIT nuclear physicist (and founding father lookalike) Ernest Moniz. Coming in, Perry wasn’t even aware of the Department’s duties to carry out the Iran Deal, protect the country’s nuclear arsenal, and promote research. Since his time as governor, Perry has been involved with the fossil fuel sector, which he erroneously assumed was the entire job of the Department of Energy. How did he get hired without knowing the job description?

Perry’s scientific experience is incredibly limited, with a look at his Texas A&M veterinary school transcripts revealing mostly C’s, including a D in a class called “Meats.” This is the man to whom Donald Trump is entrusting with enough weapons to end civilization as we know it. Perhaps I should give Rick Perry the benefit of the doubt. After all, he quickly learned how to dance for “Dancing With the Stars.” Of course, nuclear physics must be the same way.

The problem is that Trump hasn’t just selected two terrible cabinet choices. DeVos and Perry are just two of the most discussed. EPA Administrator pick Scott Pruitt refused to name human activity as the main cause of climate change, despite scientific consensus. CIA Director choice Mike Pompeo has a mixed record on whether or not he supports torture. Ben Carson, picked to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has no policy experience in his area.

Donald Trump’s cabinet choices are dangerous not just because of the radical policies they preach, but because of their inability to fulfill their duties. I agree with Trump and Sanders that Washington has become too overrun with out of touch bureaucrats. This is especially true in Congress, a representative body seemingly more concerned with special interests than the people. However, there are parts of government, such as the cabinet, that absolutely demand technocracy. The cabinet is not supposed to be a people’s body, but rather a set of experts who implement incredibly specific directives. The Trump administration forgoes this logic on a daily basis, and is fashioning our government not as a stronger democracy or republic, but under the mantra of agnoia kratos, or power to the ignorant. It is imperative for public safety, economic health, and America’s well-being that Congress acts as a check on Trump’s wildly unqualified cabinet choices.