Grown folks develop the habit/skill of formulating intelligent opinions on issues. Rome wasn’t built in a day and informed voters start by paying attention in junior high and high school civics and government classes. Of course, local, state and federal issues aren’t the most important parts of life but indirectly issues play a role.
To keep it simple, we should use that old reporter’s method of research “Who, What, When, Where and Why” but with some adjustments to personalize. Eventually, “How” has been added over the years and I want to toss in Money. Once you have the skeleton of an issue, you can add meat on the bones later and become an informed voter.
As a side note, this information age in which we are living creates opportunities for nefarious characters in the policy arena to drive public opinion with misinformation for personal gain. In other words, you must keep your mucking boots and a good shovel handy and develop B.S. filters.
Who, What, When, Where, Why/$
Who– who are the people affected by this matter from every angle.
What– like in legal brief writing, what is the real “issue” in a few words. People often get confused by side issues or issues with many points, but we must learn to focus on the “What” is the primary issue first. For example, the current abortion debate is more about a woman’s right to choose than a debate on say sexual activity or applying your religious beliefs to public law.
When– when will the matter unfold or what is a brief history surrounding this issue. Also, when addresses what will happen relating to this issue based on decisions that need to be made.
Where– easily, where is about the location of the issue in general.
Why/$ – going back to legal briefs again, why is similar to legal rationale. This matter is happening for this reason or action regarding this matter should be this act to produce a fair, reasonable, logical result. To add a twist to this research method, consider the school of thought that almost everything comes down to dollars, money, gold and wealth. If you review history for the rest of the day, can you name anything that wasn’t ultimately about money. Okay, Jesus on earth but the attacks on him were about money and power.
Peanuts Example
In Georgia, agriculture is the top industry but so many people think farming has nothing to do with them. Agriculture is important to people who eat food, drink fresh water and breathe clean air. Everyone then. Let’s apply this research method to the old USDA peanut program.
Who: Peanut farmers, candy makers, shoppers
What: Should the USDA help farmers get top dollar for their peanut crops or keep the price low to help candy-makers and consumers of peanut butter.
When: Ongoing but the USDA has moved away from ensuring a certain amount per ton for peanuts in a USDA program.
Where: the entire nation because peanuts are grown from Virginia to Texas, candy is made by Mars, Hershey, etc. nationwide and people eat peanut butter and whole nuts as an affordable food everywhere.
Why: Here is the drama: farmers want a great price for their crops while candy makers want a low price to purchase nuts and people are shocked by the high price of peanut butter. Of course, the White House, USDA and Congress are hammered with lobbyists from the above-mentioned groups.
Ukraine Example
Who: Russia, Ukraine, NATO nations including the United States and Poland
What: Russia invaded the former USSR nation Ukraine because they insist Ukraine is part of Russia.
When: Back to the Russia Empire or recently when Russia took the Crimea region of Ukraine and the world did nothing. More recently, Russia moved on the whole nation.
Where: the former USSR region
Why: Putin of Russia wants to rebuild the old Russian Empire but areas have become independent nations who are members of NATO and the United Nations. If a Russian missile hits neighboring NATO member Poland, the United States and most of Europe is pulled into a global shooting war with nuclear nations. The dollar part includes the fact that the Crimea region of Ukraine was the bread basket/agriculture area for Russia.
Summary: We should introduce a basic issue research tool like Who, What, When, Where and Why/$ to more citizens to foster more informed voters. Those voters would develop opinions on matters like my 20 Cross-generational Issues and once they realize the importance of the issues on the table, voting would be a regular activity.
[…] Study Techniques Study Issues: Who, What, When, Where, Why/$ | Project Logic Ga : as a companion to the 20 Cross Generational Issues, this study method employs the tool used […]