Public Priorities Lose to Bathroom Politics

Public Priorities Lose to Bathroom Politics

Dr. Robert A. Scott, President Emeritus, Adelphi University; Author, How University Boards Work, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018, Eric Hoffer Awardee, 2019

Rome was burning while Nero fiddled. This ancient metaphor is apt again. While federal and state elected officials pass laws to harass trans youth, ban books about slavery, and deny individual rights, our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. Our electronic systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

There have been more than a dozen train derailments due to inadequate track and safety systems so far this year. Yet the recent one in Ohio was blamed on anti-White sentiment.

There is a water main break every two minutes. Nearly one-half of our public roadways are in poor or mediocre condition. These are among the assessments of the American Society of Civil Engineers in its periodic report on U. S. infrastructure. It awarded a grade of C-, to these and other features of our infrastructure, yet these systems are essential to commerce and national security.

In addition to the condition of roads and bridges, we have serious shortages of investment in aviation systems. In January, the outage of the NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) System resulted in the grounding of all domestic flights. We also have major needs in climate mitigation, healthcare cost containment, energy alternatives, access to high quality education, and cybersecurity.

This last should be of grave concern. Imagine the vulnerability to attack and ransom demands of military guidance systems, the electrical grid, banking transactions, and Air Traffic Control. Yet partisan gridlock limits the ability of Congress to address these needs. The 2021 infrastructure package signed into law by President Biden passed the House by 22 votes, with 206 Members voting “No.”

While these critical issues of public interest persist and worsen, some members of Congress and State Houses devote their attention to the politics of the bedroom and bathroom. They are cultural warriors who ignore the public interest.

Across the country there are attempts to limit the freedoms of gay citizens, same sex couples, and those who wish to transition from their birth gender to their truer identity. Legislators also are acting to ban books and limit the teaching of American history. They worry that discussions of slavery, racist public policies, and lynching might upset White students and their families.

Although the conditions of roads and bridges are visible safety hazards, the most critical issue is cybersecurity and the vulnerability of our digital society. The recently released “National Cybersecurity Strategy” calls for imposing federally mandated security rules on critical infrastructure, holding software manufacturers responsible for insecure products vulnerable to malevolent hacking. While voluntary cybersecurity efforts by industry have been helpful, they are insufficient at a time of persistent efforts by ever more sophisticated hackers who wish to breach critical government and private networks. There are no national standards for data protection and comprehensive privacy rules, leaving the military, civil society, manufacturers, and individual citizens vulnerable to attack. In the realm of our “internet of things,” everyday appliances that rely upon the internet, we need rules for both protection and privac

In years past, enlightened U.S. leaders worked with leaders in other countries to create international agreements of universal benefit. These include the law of the seas, coordinated time zones, and shared weather forecasting, all essential to an interdependent world community. We need the same for the internet and telecommunications.

Unfortunately, a survey of pending Congressional and legislative actions finds little action on international cooperation for cybersecurity, climate mitigation, mass migration, food insecurity and poverty, childcare and healthcare costs, gun control, and infrastructure needs. Instead, we find much discussion about abortion, trans youth, and drag queens. There is more attention to banning books than to banning bombs.

This is a crisis and should be cause for alarm and action. Write postcards for candidates. Vote!