The People's Nation

Rich Lowry, reprinted in National Review, gets it exactly right. Because of copyright issues, I can't quote directly, but he talks about how a process (legislation) that was once the exclusive property of The Professionals, is now anybody's game.

Don't underestimate the meaning of this victory - all who played a part in defeating the Shamnesty bill take deservedly take a bow. By writing about it, contacting legislators, and making a major fuss, we stopped it.

WE did.

That, people, is the essence of what it means to be a Nation of Citizens. That's what the Founders of this Republic had in mind in 1776, when they took upon themselves prerogatives that had been for the King and his Annointed Ones, and took the reins of government in their own hands.

Sure, they made mistakes. They erred.

But the great thing about a self-governing group of people is that the mechanism is, largely, self-correcting. It allows the minority to express their thoughts, spread them widely, and engage in a wrangle for answers they can all live with.

It's messy. In some ways, it's efficient inefficient. But, it's the only way to preserve freedom for those people.

And, sometimes, we citizens get a glimpse of what the process can be. We have a moment, like in the movie, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", when the Nobody Special (or Specials) triumph over the witheringly you-just-don't-understand August Body.

Boy, that's a great moment!