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Remember how we learned that “information is power” when we were kids? Sometimes that’s true in ways that aren’t so good or noble. For instance, California has passed and signed into law a bill that will let so-called “violence prevention researchers” know the names and addresses of every law-abiding gun owner in the state. No one would ever abuse that kind of information, would they?
The problems confronting us can seem overwhelming, and partisanship can cause us to lose perspective. Emina Elonic reminds us that the single biggest battle that any of us will win is the one in which we find the courage to be good. Historically, this is the dynamic that has led people out of tyranny.
Federalism is a concept that’s poorly understood by most Americans. That may explain why it was displaced by nationalism a long time ago. It’s likely we’re going to see a collision between the states and our national government in the days ahead. Now would be a good time to learn why state rights and federalism still matter.