When American politics are involved, no matter the topic or venue, things are bound to get complicated. In a nation where bureaucracy often creates ivory towers that the public feels they will never reach, understanding the decisions of our leaders can become increasingly difficult. However, public policy is intended to serve the public. Without finding a way to climb that ivory tower and gain a sense of understanding, we, as Americans, dishonor the very thing so many of our brothers and sisters have fought and died for: democracy. It is therefore our obligation, as citizens, to make an effort to understand even the most complex issues in public policy.
The first thing you can do to better understand public policy is turn on a news commentary show. Actually, don't just turn on one. Watch news commentary shows on CNN, MSNBC, and FOXNews. These shows, with political pundits, commentators and politicians themselves, often find ways to break down complicated public policy issues into comprehensible ideas. The caveat in all of this is balance. Despite the proclamations of balanced reporting from all major news stations, the reality is that there are right and left leaning programs. In order to get a full picture of what is happening in the realm of public policy, you need to hear both sides. It's also not enough to turn on the television once and leave it be. In public policy, twenty four hours can make a huge difference. Tuning in on a regular basis is the only way to guarantee that you are up to date on the issues.
However, news commentary shows can only give you so much information. Not only are they limited by time constraints, but in order to have a maximum impact in a short time frame, they often cut out huge chunks of the political conversation on public policy. For this reason, once you feel like you have a general knowledge base in a particular aspect of public policy, you should read up on it. The internet is a wonderful thing in that it has increased transparency in some respects for political affairs. Read newspaper articles, Associated Press releases, and even the occasional blog for various perspectives and opinions. If you have the patience for it, consider reading Congressional testimony or the text of bills being debated. This can sometimes be a harrowing process, but nothing can help you better understand public policy than actually reading the policies themselves.
Finally, public policy understanding is fostered by communication. Though conventional wisdom tells us that two subjects not suitable for polite company are religion and politics, the time has come to break convention. Part of the reason that people don't understand a lot about public policy is because we have become so afraid of offending someone that we fail to engage in conversation about it. Unfortunately for everyone involved, this only leads to a poorly informed voting public, which is never going to help make things better. If you truly want to understand more about public policy, engage in public debate.