The recent furor over the Arizona’s decision to enforce federal standards for immigration reveals deep confusion and devastating subversion concerning our national identity. In the name of compassion and social justice, and amidst fears of a police state, Arizona is being boycotted, demonized and harassed for standing up for her citizens. What is often not visible is the hypocrisy of the Right who revel in the undocumented labor and exploit the needs of millions crossing the border from Mexico.

One of the challenges in today’s public square is our captivity to “McThinking” -fascination with memorable phrases and sweeping declarations, regardless of their empty content. Pundits on the right love to extol the “magic of the market.” and the importance of “family values.” Bloggers on the left speak passionately about compassion, tolerance and equity. Meanwhile, millions need work, help with housing and wisdom for living in the real world.

Samuel Adams was the firebrand of colonial opposition to British taxation and one of the key mobilizers for the American Revolution. Between 1765 and 1776 he was the most passionate, radical and uncompromising spokesman for liberty. The British leaders hated him, considering him a lower-class agitator. Fellow-revolutionaries (even family member John Adams) were often put off by his tactics, preferring more civil forms of redress. Once independence was secured, Adams continued to speak out for personal liberties and local government. He was an early opponent of the new Constitution, until the Bill of Rights was added. Even after its ratification, Adams was concerned about the power of the federal government.

Governing is more difficult than agitating. Our current leaders, like all their predecessors, are finding the realities of domestic demands and global conflagrations more challenging than the academic and policy papers they serenely composed before their ascent to power.

The current descent into the politics of intimidation and reaction is not serving our nation well. As long as the votes are there, the current administration doesn’t give a fig about what the other party or even a majority of Americans think – they know better and they are counting on ignorance and neediness to fuel their agenda. The Republican and Tea Party reactions (not always the same thing) are sometimes cogent and sometimes incoherent, but they are powered by a deep anger rooted in the loss of liberty. The problem for the Republicans is that they have not demonstrated how to cover the uninsured cost-effectively and empower the states to roll up their sleeves and solve the problems. For every Republican who screams against the stimulus and big government, there is another one cutting a ribbon on a project funded by Washington.