I spent a lot of time walking around Washington, DC this weekend, and much of my wandering brought me close to the National Mall, and even around the US Capitol Building. Just in time for history, and also just in time for the protesters. This, in combination with a few other factors, really spurred some thoughts, which I will attempt to develop here. I will be dividing these thoughts into a few posts, just to keep everything neat and also manageable.

National politics are important, and I have only become politically aware within the past few years. Having grown up in Seattle, national politics has always seemed very distant and obtuse. Knowing this, I paid especially close attention in my high school US Government and American History classes. I consider myself fairly familiar with the general structure and function of the Federal Government, and I have both the grades and AP test scores to support that conclusion. However, objective knowledge garnered from textbooks and the basic source texts and documents which form the basis of government are not sufficient to understand the culture of politics that have developed in this country over the past 233, almost 234 years.

Living in and around Washington for the past year and a half or so, I think I’ve figured out the basic structure: people either believe in government and its ability to affect and promote change to solve societal problems for the greater good, or they don’t. Most everyone I know considers themselves to be either a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative, pro-choice or pro-life, or whatever. Those labels involve arguments over the details of government, and not the fundamental question of whether or not government actually has the ability to work. The idea of productive and civil debate in government assumes that all of the parties involve believe in the power and rule of law at least as far as it is able to induce change and resolve conflicts.

I consider myself to be solidly among those who believe in government, and in this nation’s federal government in particular. It may not be perfect, but the tools are there in order to improve it, provided enough people have the courage and conviction to help.

None of the anti-Health Reform/Tea Party protesters I saw this weekend share that basic idea, or even have faith in the government, let alone any kind of fundamental understanding of its structure or history. Many among them claimed to be patriots, and yet proudly bore some of the most politically sickening and disheartening signs I have ever seen. Furthermore, the behavior I later heard that some of the protesters had engaged in was even worse.

This is perfectly acceptable, and it is expression that should be brought forth; however, it is necessary for this kind of rhetoric to be accompanied by a willingness to debate and discuss real and relevant facts pertaining to the issues at hand. This was and has been largely absent for at least the past year, and I am truly sad for its loss, because I only truly came to appreciate it two years ago.