ISSUES: Hard work ahead

I want to cast light on limits on us to be able to understand political and governmental issues. I served in government for 29 years as a sailor, and as a civilian. I might have more insight into government than those who do not have that experience.

The Hatch Act is an example. In those 29 years it was beaten into our heads that we should never do anything that could be interpreted as a political act, like influencing a fellow worker into voting a certain way. Most of us walked on eggshells regarding that rule. I will not even attempt to weigh in on the Kelly Anne Conway hullabaloo because my main point is that the vast majority of citizens have little or no knowledge of such issues.

Most of us use what we think is logic to compensate for the lack of knowledge. Most of the issues of the day cannot be penetrated by logic and are very difficult to understand, even for people who have a background conducive to understanding certain issues. As a Social Studies teacher for two years and a fairly intelligent person, it was all I could do to gain even a superficial understanding of the five courses I taught, all subjects studied in college.

The bottom line is that no matter how deep you dig, there is usually more digging to do. Many of us are not doing a good job of understanding even the issues that we hold dear. We should do better.

MORTON KRAUS

Coeur d’Alene