I find myself watching current events from the shallows of a raging river. Not close enough to the surging currents to be swept away, yet a little too far from shore and a little too deep. The safety rope of perceived intellectual objectivity is somewhere behind me.

I have dreamed for many years that somehow, some way, some day the America I know and love would surely arise from its daze and see the structure being erected around it. Bit by bit, the liberties I grew up with have been frayed at the edges, if not outright stolen from us.

Now that the average law abiding, Constitution loving, flag waving, Pledge of Allegiance reciting citizens have slowly stood, I am in awe and a little afraid. The anger and resentment are palpable. The communal feeling of personal violation leaves us feeling like a shower just won't quite do it.

We trusted them. I know... it's silly. Naive. And a little childish, but I thought - we all thought - the political elite might be a little out of line, too much of the national nanny and a little too generous with our hard-earned money. But the next election was right around the corner and the damage wasn't dire enough that we could not correct it.

We now know what the price of our inattention really was. They have left a mess that our children and grandchildren may have to deal with. The idea of leaving the nation a little better than we found it is out there smashed, being thrown around in the raging waters.

This is the beginning. We are awake now. The recent election is a good start, but the heavy lifting is yet to begin. We are going to have to sacrifice. We are going to have to fight. We are going to have to speak in a united voice that this mess is ours and we have to start fixing it.

The greatest notion of personal liberty assembled as a nation not only demands it, but our duty as stewards and guardians of the grand experiment called the United States, requires it.