I am of the belief that civic engagement can help support us through our ongoing crises in governance. In the confirmation process for the president’s cabinet nominees, it may be possible to look a little beyond the sound bites that emerge in news coverage.

Knowing the RFK Jr. hearing is important, I tuned in to C-Span for a while today. I’d like to share some impressions.

I heard RFK Jr. declare he had been a heroin addict for 14 years. It was good he was frank about this, but the revelation raised red flags for me. Yes, we all would like to believe in second, third and fourth chances in life; however, I do not think Kennedy’s past history is to be taken lightly.

However trendy youth drug use may have been when I came up or is today, I think it can sometimes disqualify people from eligibility for certain career paths. It is my concerted view that our country could have done better if we had said “no” to George W. Bush’s presidential candidacy on account of his having said “yes” to certain kinds of youthful experimentation.

At last I had heard enough when RFK Jr. told Sen. Bill Cassidy that most Medicare recipients would prefer to have Medicare Advantage but cannot, as it is the more expensive option. This I understood to be a material misstatement of facts that amounted to a completely unforced error.

I thought this mistake to be completely consistent with my profile of RFK Jr. as someone who addled his own brain, with lifelong adverse consequences.

Mary Hall

South Hadley