The first golden rule of mathematics says this: "An approximate answer to the right question is superior to the precise answer to the wrong question."

I've been giving this maxim a lot of thought lately relative to many of the happenstances in our world. We hear daily lamentations about a wide variety of societal ills; from the problems of poverty and the growing disparity between the "haves" and the "have nots," to the seemingly ever widening racial divide, to the devastation of lives that are consumed with methamphetamine and/or opioids.

A casual glance at this year's election process will highlight the schism that is threatening to tear at the very fabric of our country. Voters on both sides of the aisle are angry and the vitriolic rhetoric being spewed forth has become so commonplace that many voters are simply opting out of the process; feeling like the choices being offered aren't worth their support.

Tom Westfall Guest columnist
Tom Westfall Guest columnist

I recently polled a group of young people of voting age about whether or not they were registered to vote. The majority weren't and their reasons ran from cynical (the whole system is rigged) to benign disinterest (if this is the best we can do, I don't want any part of it) to a sense of political ennui (it doesn't matter, the banks control everything anyway.)

Needless to say, pundits, talking heads, social scientists, educators and others spend a lot of time analyzing each of these issues, trying to divine answers. The problem is that many times we're getting "the right answers to the wrong questions."

Take the issue of substance abuse for example. The questions most often asked relative to this scourge are "how are we going to get rid of these drugs and how can we help those who become involved with it rehabilitate their lives."


In and of themselves, these aren't necessarily bad questions. Well-intentioned people will spend their lives trying to eliminate drug abuse use from our communities. The problem is that unless we un-layer the root causes and ask the right question, we're never going to do anything more than treat the symptoms. The question that needs to be asked is this: "Why do people abuse drugs?" It is only with an understanding of the underlying cause of the problem that we will be able to develop systemic strategies for their elimination.

Think about our current election woes. Many people are less than thrilled with either of the candidates. Recent polls show that a significant percentage of voters for either candidate are not "enthusiastically" supporting their choice. The question is often bandied about, "Is this the best we can do?" It's a fair question, but fails to get to the heart of the problem. A better question might be, "Why are people so angry and so polarized?"

It's easy to look across the aisle and criticize those with whom we have political disagreements, and this election cycle has highlighted some of our worst in terms of name calling. But here's the thing — come November, one of these two individuals is going to be our next president. That portion of the "struggle" will be over, but the bitter acrimony that is permeating our culture isn't likely to dissipate. In fact, it is likely to intensify. Whichever candidate becomes president, s/he will have a momentous task bringing our country together again, and unless we focus on the proper questions, the chasm will only widen.

Teachers have a difficult task. They have to educate children from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. No one enjoys teaching disruptive kids and when confronted with the prospects of handling one of these children, many teachers despair and say, "How am I going to manage this kid in my classroom?"

A better question might be: "Why is this child behaving in this manner?" Encoding the etiology and root cause of a child's disruptive behavior is more likely to provide a roadmap for educational success going forward than trying to figure out "how to manage" the issue.

In each of these examples, well-meaning people are trying to problem solve, but they often focus their energies on the wrong questions. A truism of human behavior is that "every behavior is an attempt to meet our needs." Think about that for a moment. The drug abuser is attempting (albeit unsuccessfully) to meet their needs through drug usage. The rancor being raised by angry voters is an attempt to meet their needs. The child who is misbehaving in the classroom is trying to meet his/her needs...

There aren't precise answers to any of these questions, but if we can get down in the weeds, proverbially speaking, and begin to ask better questions (such as, what "needs" are the individuals involved trying to meet, and is there a way to help them meet these needs in a better manner), perhaps the answers, though always fluid and never perfect, will begin to emerge.

Tom Westfall teaches parenting classes at Family Resource Center.