“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.” Albert Einstein
You don’t have to be an Einstein to know that the people who solve problems are different than the people who create the problems. We just experienced this in real time and at scale. The Biden Administration created the border crisis by encouraging millions of illegal immigrants to rush into our country. Biden said that there was nothing to be done about the problem unless Congress acted. Biden could not even see the problem as a problem. However, as soon as different people (Trump) with different thinking tackled the problem, it was 96% solved in a matter of days – WITHOUT congressional action.
The people who create problems usually have a narrow view. They focus on one aspect while ignoring unintended consequences. They promote male trans athletes while ignoring the negative impact on female athletes. They focus on punishing Elon Musk for imagined crimes by assaulting Tesla automobiles, while ignoring the harm done to fellow liberals who purchased Teslas to “save the environment.” It is not that they are ignoring the adverse effects; it’s that they just don’t see them.
This effect was vividly demonstrated during the last election concerning the Community Library Network (CLN). CLN Trustees and some others in the community could not see that there were materials harmful to children being openly displayed and promoted in the various children’s sections of the network’s libraries. They claimed that if they did not see them they did not exist.
I was reminded of watching a news report from England after the 1986 Chernobyl reactor explosion spread radioactive fallout all over Europe. A farmer was protesting that his sheep were being euthanized due to radioactive contamination. When the reporter asked him about the radiation he replied “You can’t see it. You can’t smell it. You can’t taste it. You can’t feel it. I’m telling you, it’s just not there!”
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Hundreds of these books that obviously met the legal definition of “material harmful to minors” were cataloged, clearly listing their existence and location within the CLN on the CleanBooksForKids.com web site. Notably, some images of those books were so explicit they needed to be blurred to avoid legal problems.
Fortunately, new trustees were elected to the CLN who DID see the problem and took steps to protect the innocence of our children. The solution was simple – move the books that were classified under Idaho Law as being “materials harmful to minors” out of the libraries’ children’s sections and into the adult area. It was and is a simple, common sense solution that the opposition labeled as censorship, book burning, and fascism.
The idea that children should not be exposed to sexually explicit material that is harmful to children was so obviously true that in 2024 the Idaho legislature passed “The Children’s School and Library Protection Act” which requires public libraries to take reasonable steps to restrict access by minors to material harmful to minors.
The CLN moved the harmful materials into the Mature Content section where adults could still access the books. This gave control of these materials to the parents, where it belongs. Clearly the libraries of the CLN are now better, safer environments for young learners.
The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) consists of one member from each of the 73 (now 74) precincts across the county, elected by the Republican voters in that precinct. The KCRCC has an extensive process for evaluating candidates for office. The candidates fill out questionnaires that provide information for our Voter Guide and which inform the members of the committee. Candidates are also interviewed by our Vetting Committee and stand for questions from the entire KCRCC membership. All members then meet to discuss the candidates and to vote by secret ballot on who we should recommend. No other organization has a system that is as thorough or comprehensive.
The popular KCRCC Voter Guide contains information on all the candidates who participated. Expect to see one in your mailbox soon. When the Voter Guide arrives, there is a fun typo. See if you can find it. Will you be blind to it or will you see the problem?
Also look for our iconic KCRCC recommended candidate list in your mailbox, in a door hanger bag or in one of the local publications. For the May 20th election the KCRCC recommends 11 candidates for various positions. All received a strong majority vote from the committeemen, and all will bring a problem-solving approach to the positions.
For example, Victoria Bauman is a recommended candidate for the CLN. She is the mother of a young child who participates regularly in her local community library programming, and she, like community families, depends on a safe library environment. Her opponent was a librarian for years who doesn’t see that exposing children to “materials harmful a minors” as a problem and says that taking steps to comply with the law is an “extreme ideological agenda.”
We need qualified people to solve the problems that others deny exist.
It’s just common sense.
