Governmental change is gradual

There has been quite a bit of commotion in recent months concerning obstruction in Washington. Like an old and disagreeable married couple, Republicans and Democrats have bickered over who is really to blame for a government that can’t quite get much done. Our political parties quarrel out of excessive similarities in personality and behavior, not out of any extreme difference that would cause permanent damage.

What is most concerning ought to be the response of the general public to the usual grind of Washington. While it is perfectly acceptable for citizens to be dissatisfied with their government, it is altogether more dangerous for a people to be impatient with government. Yet, this is precisely where the drift of public opinion is leading, and if the current election cycle is any indicator, the desire for positive reform has already begun to evolve into a thirst for total revolt.

Our government was never designed to work effortlessly; it was never meant to consist primarily of executive orders and judicial activism. A democratic republic only properly functions in the slow friction of competing ideas. If there is to be progress, it ought to be slow progress. If there is to be change, it ought to be gradual change. This is not to be needlessly conservative, but it is a proper safeguard against mob rule.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Governmental change is gradual."