Something new is emerging in America.
The bitter and fanatical cry of outrage from Republicans, conservatives and Tea-Partiers at the final passage of a first-ever national health care bill is the sign that something unusual is now coming to the fore in America.
The rage, of course, is directed against Democrats, but its real target is for President Obama.
He embodies something this country has not seen in quite a while: a President and a leader who can fight for the people.
The nature of life and of the universe is such that every time this happens - when a lion of the people begins to emerge - the packs of hounddogs and foxes break out in their choruses of baying and yapping, and devilish characters seem to emerge in heated mob-rage from the bowels of the earth itself.
The President is that potential lion.
For the first time in decades, the powerful stranglehold of power and money and selfishness has been directly confronted and stunned to a standstill. It is only a moment in time, to be sure; but it is an opening.
People are starving for a leader with great heart to step forward and do battle. And it will be a battle; for never has authority and wealth and privilege easily given up its grip of power.
There is something frenzied in the reaction to this piece of legislation. It goes way beyond mere objection. It is filled with a hatred bordering on insanity.
Something good has stepped forward, and something evil is loosed also from the shadows.
This piece of legislation is not perfect. There is a world of room for improvement.
But the significance of the moment goes way beyond the legislation. It is a glimpse of something wonderful. It is a glimpse of something great.
When the lion begins to roar, the foxes scatter.
Jim Hilgendorf writes at http://www.jimhilgendorf.org.