I’m not saying citizens shouldn’t care. I’m saying that the impulse to want government action in every trouble spot around the globe is a mistaken policy.

The great fact, or rather The Great Fact, is that America runs on the work or ordinary citizens. Politician get too much credit for their policies — which usually only boost or cut American jobs by tiny percentage. And the national press likes to use exaggerated language — claiming that a president “created” millions of jobs or destroyed millions of jobs. That’s silly.

Real knowledge comes from sifting through many sources and holding them all arm’s length. Some sources are better than others, but no source of information about a topic as large and complex as American History is complete. I am sure that the 1776 Commission gives a biased perspective. But it is exactly the biased perspective that you’d expect from that direction.

The founders intended for Congress to make laws and the president to do what Congress decided. The president was not expected to have an agenda of his own. And if Congress didn’t make a law, the president was expected to sit quietly.

The best question to ask when discussing serious social issues is, “Could you explain that a bit more?” Or “What do you mean by [a word or term used by the speaker]?” Ask that question, and then let the speaker explain. If they say something you disagree with, then go ahead and disagree. But chances are good that they are saying something reasonable and respectable.

The natural impulse of citizens who care about an issue to go outside and get noisy and silly doesn’t help. There’s no harm in wearing a funny hat. But for millions of Americans, protesting and demonstrating is the limit of their activism. Citizens need to recognize that marches and protests are only the beginning of change.

If you can adapt the concepts of Code, Conservancy, Clarity, Consequences, Compassion, Credibility, and Consistency, you can instill and preserve your values against all threats, internal and external.

The challenge you face as a citizen is to be fair and honest, and to answer tough questions in a way that applies equally to all of your fellow citizens, and that you would be willing to accept if, someday, you were part of the demonstrating and protesting group yourself.

Nobody should disrespect war so much that they confuse it with a small, brief act of criminal mischief. “This” does not equal “the second civil war.”

Public trust in 2021 has dissolved to the point that the public doesn’t believe anything. Some minority share will believe anything. But the larger consensus needed to make major efforts (e.g., covid-19 vaccinations, presidential transitions, reform of police procedures) successful just doesn’t exist. As Yglesias explains in his column, leaders can’t continue to expect public support. They’ve lost it.