Dear Political Animals,

We’ve been reading about corn production in the United States. But really, we’ve been learning about resources and how we decide which ones to develop. And it’s a nice thing that you’ve started doing this in 5th grade, because it’s something that you’ll do for the rest of your life.

Harold Laswell says that politics is deciding “who gets what, when, and how.” We like to play political games and gussy it up in pageantry, but the heart of the matter is divvying up resources. 

And there is no way it’s “supposed” to be. It’s all up to us—we the people—to decide. And if you’re not involved in the messy process of making those decisions, they get made for you.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt