Hello Mary Anne!
Do we better know the present than the past?

But there are too many things going on at the present time, that might even affect our life, for us to grasp them all, and understand, I think.
On the other hand, things of the past, while being indeed filtered, are not always filtered the same way and at the same time. This can help us get a better picture of what happened.

Are politics a science or an art?
I heard a philosopher, yesterday, saying that politics taken as science reminded him of political experiments that were "scientifically" motivated like Marxism, and other ones in "ism" that turned into total failures. He said politics are an art as it's a matter of passion, commitment and "savoir faire".

(When I was 18, I had a dissertation about being in favor or against being a major at 18 (thus considered an adult at 18 rather than 21 as it was the case, then); I didn't do it well.
Another one was: One only loves that which is inaccessible (roughly translated); it was much better).

Cheers,
Raoul