Get a grip, people

There come times I suspect, in all governments, when the people are required by their obligations, to stand up and be counted in opposition to the government.

As important as voting is, it is not standing up to be counted.
It is not marching; it is not demonstrating; it is not occupying.

Sometimes you have to march.  How else has tyranny ever been overthrown?

But, it has to be done right.  In this day and age, if the marches and demonstrations and occupations are uncivil, they are ineffective in direct proportion to their incivility.

Why do people, when they do finally stand up, then over exercise their rights to speak and assemble freely and petition their government for redress of their grievances?

Their need to over exercise is fed by the belief that nothing less will be enough.  It is fed by the belief that if you walk up quietly, wait your turn and speak your piece, it will not be heard.

It is fed by the conviction that there will be no good faith response to a peacefully delivered petition.

If that conviction is delusional, then all the government has to do, to dispel the delusion, is to point to the time, the day and the place where they will sit and respond candidly, forthrightly and honestly to legitimate questions about the public interests and about their public service.

There will be, according to the government; no such time, no such day, no such place.

The fundamental problem is the fact that the people believe the government is not paying attention to them.  Government is becoming less and less, government of the people, by the people and for the people.

The people rightly must stand up.  There equal obligation is to stand up rightly.

The kind of attention that needs to be paid to problems, will not be paid to people who are destroying public property and provoking confrontations with the police.  They will compound the problem by using the inattention to justifiy further destruction and provocation.  Their conduct diminishes the credibility of everyone around them.  A justifiable position is not strengthened by incivility and criminal misconduct.

What we lack are leaders that can both excite and calm the people; excite them to the point where they will leave their spheres of comfort and safety to go somewhere, to stand to be counted and then, calm them into behaving like civilized human beings when they do.

Its a fine line.  Its why there aren't more leaders.