One of your best aticles Alexander. Well done.

Unfortunately we kind of layer suposed solutions on top of issues that we are not understanding in the first place. And as you point out we continually exacerbate situations.

Maybe a reason for this is that we in America won't settle for anything less than TOTAL. And so we never get there. The abortion issue, for example, we just can't put it to bed -- other countries (even Ireland) have found agreement most can live with. It's an ALL of NOTHING mentality that delivers us mostly nothing. Look at Afghanistan (I recall we having differences of opinion here, but) where we could have come away not with total victory, but with real achievements in some things.

Perhaps also, in order to arrive at better solutions is to keep the high hands at bay. Have decisions made primarily by local participants who are far better equipt with knowledge and circumstances. Find solutions at these levels and transplant (or modifly) to other like places. Key is that solutions are driven from the local. And that the upper levels accomodate, perhaps coordinate and mostly simply facilitate. I have been arguing this in regards to immigration. “We Need Outside People to Help Us” and "Immigration and Climate Solutions Are Related" which I invite you to read.