America Is Exceptional: But Because It Yields

We All Want Merit To Mean Something, And We All May Be Tempted To Reduce That Meaning To Something Measurable And Concrete Like An Sat Score. The Reality, Though, Is That Who Deserves Entry Into An Institution Depends On What The Institution Exists To Do.

Sometimes When I Listen To Fellow Progressives, I Wonder If The Only Lesson We Took Away From The '04 Elections Is That Politics Is A Word Game.

As It Stands Now, Those Of Us Who Are Lucky Enough To Be Citizens By Birth Don't Have To Do Much. Very Little Is Asked Of Us.

You Want To Defend Citizenship? Don't Persecute Or Isolate Those Without Papers. Just Live Like A Citizen. That'd Be A First-class Way To Be American.

Many Smart Folks Seem To Think That If You Just Get Your Metaphors And Messages Right, You'll Win. That If You Start Describing What You Favor As A 'moral Value' - 'affordable Health Care Is A Moral Value' Etc., - Then You'll Appeal To Red-state Voters.