We have to start somewhere

Creating committees to study issues is back in vogue, and my first reaction tends to be, "So what were we doing BEFORE about this problem or challenge?" 

President Biden is reportedly organizing a bipartisan committee to study ways to restructure the Supreme Court. In Colorado, at least two proposed state laws, one on drastically altering policing inside schools and one that would significantly add regulation to social media and other online companies, have been withdrawn and the sponsors have settled for less contentious legislation that creates study committees.

When a city or state or nation encounters a large number of problems, some of which have obviously been building for many years, these study committees proliferate. 

For people who want relief RIGHT NOW, of course, hearing that any concrete solutions or progress will be delayed is frustrating. When people get frustrated and angry enough, ANY new ideas may be welcome, even if they entail unintended consequences and even downright negative effects.

If we can step back a bit and adopt a somewhat longer term view of things, we realize that it's a good idea to start sometime to think analytically about solutions to long-standing problems. Legislation needs to start somewhere and that starting point is right now for a lot of things.

Should these study committees have begun earlier, maybe years ago? Have past studies been left to gather dust long enough that circumstances have changed, thus leaving us feel pessimistic about any potential for progress? Will enough legislators be persuadable, if new ideas are presented to them?

Yes, yes, and probably not.

But gathering of facts and analysis of options must come before "smart" actions, just as most argumentative writing must begin. Otherwise we are simply flailing about, hoping something works.

So bring on the study committees. The challenge for the media and for citizens is to not forget they exist and to demand to know what they come up with.