Is Texas the canary in the U.S. coal mine?

The recent tarnish on the Texas Miracle is the result of monopoly governance and small politics. It should serve as a warning to Texans and the nation.

In the same week that NASA successfully delivered a helicopter to Mars, many Texans were without food, water, electricity, communications, and heat, enduring sustained, sub-freezing temperatures alone and in the dark.

How did this happen?

My answer:

• The Mars project is run by scientists expected to build on facts and succeed against odds (and funding), look around corners and far down the road to anticipate any and all potential obstacles, and innovate to meet those unknowns.
• Although Texas government also possesses its share of dedicated experts and civil servants, much of it is run by either career politicians or political tourists more interested in the immediate trappings of office than the mechanics and potential of good governance.

Even as the helicopter payload descended to Mars, Texas leaders failed (and in some cases obfuscated and/or fled) in the face of a preventable and predicted catastrophe.

The question we face in Texas is echoed in communities across the country. What do we want our elected and appointed representatives to do? More partisan theater? Throw rocks at those who don’t think like them/us? Or do what’s required to keep the engine running — our economies intact, our families warm, our dreams within reach?

We’re entering a critical period of course correction at every level of government in the United States. In Texas, where accountability has now become a necessary and certain first step, we also need to examine our own expectations of public service and how so many of our representatives have been allowed to stray from the fundamentals of facts, civility, and governance. Although all politicians can’t be expected to be rocket scientists, at the very least they should be proficient in the rudimentary governing skills of foresight, communication, negotiation, and consensus.

Oh…and they should stay on the job during a crisis.

Next steps? It’s a multi-front challenge. Our broken political system must be mended to reflect the good will and perseverance of Americans. We have to reconcile and decrease the remoteness of the American Dream, introducing new infrastructure and fostering innovation every step of the way. And we’ve got to mentor the entrepreneurs, creatives, and builders who will launch the next American Century.

What are your thoughts? Let me know.

And, by all means, remember what my grandmother, born in 1915, would have said about this week. What would your grandparents have said?

Joseph Kopser, Co-founder of USTomorrow