"THE PANDEMIC OF INCOMPETENCE'

In a world where information should flow freely and transparently, America has instead found itself locked in a cage of incompetence and secrecy.

In a world where information should flow freely and transparently, America has instead found itself locked in a cage of incompetence and secrecy. Under the Trump administration, where chaos and scandal seems to be a daily occurrence, one of the most unsettling patterns isn't the constant barrage of controversies, but the blatant failures of the very agencies designed to protect us. And as the measles outbreak spreads from Texas to 15 states, it's clear: the incompetence is not just a mistake, it’s systemic.

Let’s start with the measles. Yes, measles. A disease that was supposed to be relegated to the history books, but somehow found a new foothold in America under Trump’s watch. Just in the time since he’s taken office, over 300 cases have been reported, with the outbreak now spreading from Texas to 15 states across the nation. This isn’t just a statistic, this is a public health crisis. In an era where vaccines have all but eradicated this preventable disease, the incompetence of health officials and the disregard for proper policy implementation is staggering.

Where was the government response as the measles outbreak grew from a local issue to a nationwide concern? Instead of proactive measures, the response has been lackluster at best. Trump’s administration allowed the situation to spiral, a combination of negligence and underestimation. Public health experts were drowned out by the political noise coming from Washington, leaving state and local officials to play catch-up as the disease spread.

Now, I can already hear the apologists; “It’s just the measles,” they’ll say, or perhaps, “It’s not that serious.” But this isn’t just about a disease, it’s about the failure of leadership. It's about how this government, supposedly designed to protect the American people, fumbled the ball. What about the agencies charged with stopping the spread of infectious diseases, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? Where were they in all of this? Why didn’t they act sooner, when it was still possible to contain it? Why didn’t they contain it when it was one isolated incident.

But the incompetence doesn't stop there. As if the measles outbreak wasn’t enough, we now face the specter of the avian flu, which many experts warn could soon turn into the next pandemic. And while the world braces for the worst, one prominent figure, RFK Jr., has a rather curious suggestion. His take? Let the bird flu “run its course” so we can “gather data” and use it for a cure. It’s an astounding statement that practically screams inaction. Essentially, his solution is to wait for people to suffer so we can learn something from it; because gathering data from a full-blown pandemic is exactly what we need, right?

This approach is emblematic of the broader incompetence plaguing America’s handling of public health crises. RFK Jr.'s suggestion reeks of the same passive indifference that defined the government’s response to the measles outbreak. Instead of taking immediate action to protect citizens, the attitude seems to be, “Let’s just wait and see what happens,” as if the lives of ordinary people are just collateral in some twisted scientific experiment. This cavalier approach is not just a failure of policy, it’s a moral failure. It’s also what we saw during the first Trump administration when VP Pence stood up at CPAC and lied to the American people about COVID.

But here's where it gets even more chilling: the incompetence goes beyond measles, beyond the bird flu. It goes straight to the very heart of our security. As we struggle to handle something as visible as a measles outbreak, we must ask: What about the threats that are hidden in the shadows? What about the agencies meant to safeguard us from things we cannot see, things we can’t even fathom? The FBI, the NSA, the CIA; agencies that are supposed to be gathering intelligence and protecting us from foreign threats, are also shrouded in secrecy.

We are expected to trust that these agencies are doing their job, even though we have no real way of knowing what’s going on behind closed doors. Every day, we hear about cyber threats, terror cells, and international intrigues that threaten to upend our lives. But we, the American public, are kept in the dark. We have to trust that these agencies are doing the right thing, despite having no access to the information that would prove it. How do we know we are safe? How do we know the intelligence is sound? We don’t. We are told that the government is on top of it, that everything is under control, but is it? How can we be sure when, time and time again, we see agencies fail to act on issues that are right in front of them? How are we to trust those individuals confirmed to run these agencies when they themselves have limited to zero experience?

The truth is, we can’t.

While we are left in the dark on matters of national security, health crises like the measles outbreak serve as a harsh reminder of what happens when the government drops the ball. The lack of transparency, the disregard for public health, and the willingness to let things spiral out of control is terrifying. But worse still, we are left to rely on the fact that “nothing is happening” with our national security because we have no choice but to trust agencies and those running them that refuse to share the full picture with us.

The real pandemic here is not the one we can see, but the one that’s unfolding in secret. It’s the pandemic of incompetence, of secrecy, and of bureaucratic failure. The more we are kept in the dark, the more we are left to wonder: How safe are we, really? When the government can’t even handle a measles outbreak, what about the real threats that lie just beyond the horizon?

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