Last week I made the pilgrimage, along with half a million others... or "tens of thousands", depending on who you listen to. Because I was there, and could see the ocean of people stretching from the highest steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the base of the Washington Monument, I tend to lean toward the high end of that estimate.
I did what I could to make sure that everyone I passed on the sidewalk knew I was there. I said hello to everyone. And I passed a LOT of people. My hotel was a mile and a half from the Mall and I walked it no less than 6 times over 2 days. My goal was to see to it that everyone knew there was at least one friendly visitor in town for the weekend. I have no doubt there were... somewhere between "tens of thousands" and half a million others doing the very same thing. I also have no doubt that we left our Capitol a better place than it was when we arrived.
While it's probably true that we left it cleaner. My reference is to the hearts and minds of the people who live and work there. It seemed that the longer I was there, the friendlier the locals became. I'm curious to know if others made the same observation. I don't flatter myself by thinking this had anything to do with me specifically. I believe it was the combined effect of... somewhere between "tens of thousands" and half a million people giving them little to be unfriendly about.
Which brings me to the real reason I felt a pressing need to add the rare post to this blog.
After the Restoring Honor Rally had concluded, many lingered. I enjoyed conversations with people from other states, as well as a few from my own state of Ohio. After a few hours I began making my way back toward my hotel. It occurred to me, as I walked, that if everyone at the rally lived in the same city, the cost of maintaining that city would be much cheaper than that of any other city with a comparable population.
If a city were populated by people who cared as much about their neighbors as themselves, the cost of law enforcement would be low, because we would all be watching each others stuff instead of stealing it. If a city were populated by people who cared as much about their neighbors as themselves, the cost of maintaining a Fire Department would be low, because if a house were on fire, the neighbors would come together to put it out. As soon as the embers had cooled, they would aid in the rebuilding as well. If a city were populated by people who cared as much about their neighbors as themselves, social programs would be virtually non-existent, because, while the family of the house that burned was rebuilding, their neighbors would be meeting whatever needs they couldn't meet themselves. They would be glad to do it, because, as I said, they would only be meeting the needs that the family themselves couldn't meet, and because they would know this to be true. The character of the members of that family wouldn't allow it to be any other way.
In short, the more WE THE PEOPLE do for ourselves, and each other, the less opportunity we present for our government to step in and do for us. To paraphrase Ben Franlin... The more virtuous WE THE PEOPLE become, the fewer government agencies we need to "HELP US" do the right thing.
But then... Which begot the other? The old "chicken or egg" question... Did WE THE PEOPLE get lazy, so our government got involved? Or did the burden of intrusive and oppressive government, taking from one to give to another, cause us to loose interest in our neighbor? ... I tend to believe it was the latter.
I'll get back to ya...
