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Evidence That We Still Are Capable of Self-Government

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

“[N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." --Samuel Adams

 

Sometimes I am concerned that we Americans have become so spoiled and so immoral that we may no longer be capable self-government and will require a tyrant to impose order on us.  However, I was very encouraged when we recently attended Thunder Over Louisville, an air show and fireworks show attended by almost a million people crammed into a tight space along the Ohio River in downtown Louisville.  Thunder is the opening event in the Kentucky Derby Festival, which is itself a testament to self-government, being entirely funded through voluntary sponsorships and the purchase of thousands of festival pins at $3 each. 

This year, we did not make any advance plans or preparations to attend the show.  So, at the last minute, we decided we would just join the masses on the Great Lawn.  We arrived about 11:30 a.m., and we saw thousands of people – tents, tarps, coolers, and lawn chairs assembled on the grass.  We found an unoccupied spot, put a blanket on the ground, and set up our lawn chairs.  It was an interesting day.  There were people of all ages and races on the lawn, and they all behaved very respectfully of one another – each squatter refraining from interfering with the squatter’s rights of his neighbor.  Given the heat, the crowds, and the long day, that was remarkable in itself.  I saw only one dust-up, when some women came and took over the spot of a man who apparently had left his place temporarily unattended.

Later in the day, I visited the portable toilets – the part of the event I had dreaded most.  I was amazed to see fifty rows of people neatly lined up at the fifty toilets.  There were about ten people in each line, and there was no pushing or shoving.  Each line progressed reasonably quickly, as nobody wanted to spend more time there than was necessary.  But the degree of self-imposed orderliness was remarkable. 

While respecting the squatters’ rights of your neighbor and being willing to stand peacefully in well-ordered lines at toilets may seem to be petty, unimportant things, I think they illustrate the kind of mindset people need to have in order to co-exist peacefully in a self-governed society.  I am relieved to see that Kentuckians can still pass the test.

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