MISSOURI WATCH: `A LOT OF CONVENTIONAL WISDOM AIN'T'

I am still able to recall the incident, as if it were only yesterday, but it occurred nearly 50 years ago. It was a Sunday evening in the late fall of 1945, and I was sitting on my hammock on a U.S. Navy vessel listening to the weekly broadcast of Drew Pearson. Both a newspaper columnist and radio broadcaster, Pearson was one of the nation's most prominent commentators of the time, and he was discussing on this particular evening the latest disagreement we were having with our former World War II ally and future Cold War enemy. I remember his words to this day, having repeated them at least annually over the past half-century: "The conventional wisdom among America's chiefs of staff is that within 90 days, our separation centers will be turned into induction centers as we prepare to go to war against the Russians."

This bit of conventional wisdom, arriving just a few days after I had been informed that the U.S. Navy foolishly considered me too valuable to be discharged on time, along with orders to remain on active duty for the next nine months, was like hearing the only survivor of a family tragedy was your least favorite brother-in-law. About that time, a chief petty officer entered the room and I repeated Pearson's dire news to him. The CPO, who had been around about 40 years longer than I, smiled and said, "A lot of conventional wisdom ain't."

One of the nation's leading news commentator was wrong and an old salt, educated not a day past the eighth grade, was right. It's been a valuable lesson that has served me well on many occasions since.

Over the intervening SO years, a great deal of America's conventional wisdom has come and gone. Perhaps it would be reassuring if we examined some of the espoused wisdom we've received in more recent times, if only to recognize how really unwise it is to accept what is inaccurately called "conventional," or as Webster defines the word, "established by general consent or usage." If you happen to be as discouraged as I was that Sunday night some 50 years ago, you might welcome these reminders of the old chief's wise pronouncement:

We need to elect someone new as President to give the country new leadership. I'd like to have a nickel for every time I've heard this base canard. The only thing we're guaranteed with a new chief executive is a new set of problems.

Everybody in Washington is corrupt and once they get back there, they forget about the people back home. Millions of intelligent Americans believe this one, but the reality is our nation's capital is filled with some of the brightest, most conscientious people in the world. If the issues were as simple as most of us state them, there would be a shortage of serious problems.

We're leaving our children and grandchildren more problems than they will be able to solve. Granted, some of the predictions for the future aren't all that rosy, but what about generations that were confronted with the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Atomic Age, World War II, the Cold War, rampant inflation, to name but a few of the dilemmas handed one generation by the preceding one? We solved or ameliorated them, and we'll handle those in the future just as well.

If we don't solve our trade imbalance, the country will go busted. This was one of the favorite predictions of a former Democratic U.S. senator from Missouri, who at least once a week would rise to address his colleagues on the disastrous evils of the country's balance of trade deficit. The truth is we have an imbalance because U.S. consumers have enough spending power to buy imported products they want or consider superior. When we no longer have this problem will be the day Americans are too poor to buy goods they want.

We can solve the country's drug problem by hiring more police. Richard Nixon was the first president to declare war on illegal drugs, some 25 years ago, and the problem has increased despite billions spent on more enforcement. Our drug, and related crime, problem will only be solved when the demand dries up, not when the supply is temporarily limited. We learned this lesson during Prohibition, and apparently we haven't grown any smarter in the intervening years.

Term limits will give us better congresses and legislatures. This is almost universally accepted, but one of the principal strengths of the American political system is its utilization of experienced, knowledgeable legislators. It will take several generations to repeal this judgment error.

All conventional wisdom is correct. Obviously false, since the ability to recognize the difference between truth and error is seldom conventional.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of the Missouri News and Editorial Service.