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Thanks a million, everyone, for so many kind and interesting comments! It’s been a while since one of my columns has prompted such a good discussion!

First, regarding the sandwiches: my personal favorite is Johnnie’s... the smallest of the chains; I think they only have two locations: North Ave just west of Harlem at the border of Elmwood Park and River Forest... and on Arlington Heights Rd a block south of Golf, in Arlington Heights. I always have their combo - a grilled Italian sausage (somewhere between mild and hot, I think) and a stack of Italian beef, with sweet peppers. Have it with a Lemon Ice. Magnificent.

Now, regarding education, and the “instructions” I spoke of at the close...

I think our problem is, again, as I indicated in the sandwich review that inspired me. Just as the sandwich reviewer didn’t realize how important the peppers (or giardiniera) are to the sandwich, our teachers - and politicians, and parents, and all sorts of people - have spent the last century thinking that the structure of our government was what mattered.

So they proudly talk about the vote, and the difference between the primary and the general, and how the three branches are balanced out, and how each one has different terms so it’s all staggered...

They think that’s what matters, so that’s what they focus on, and what they teach. It’s not that they don’t appreciate the constitution, I think that THEY think they DO appreciate the constitution, because they champion this balanced government with almost universal suffrage. Until the last couple years, everybody in all parties at least gave it lip service.

My point about instructions is that our Framers thought the Constitution was so clear, it spoke for itself. They never dreamed that people would forget the importance of the part of it that THEY cared most about, which is all the limitations.

So my idea about “instructions” is just that I wish people focused on the limits that the Framers put in place. I wish the Framers had found some way to say, “when you teach people about this thing, start with Article I, Section 8, and tell them to notice how few things are listed, and then look at the tenth amendment and understand that anything not listed is forbidden.”

They didn’t think they needed to say that. That’s what we could never have expected them to foresee. For over a generation, our Founding Fathers had lived and breathed the philosophy of limited government; I don’t think most of them imagined that a century later, people would completely lose touch with the concept.

So all we can do, you and I, is keep writing, keep speaking, keep walking precincts, and keep trying to spread the word again, and bring back the appreciation of limited government that our Founding Fathers knew was the key to successful governance.

Again, thanks a million for the thoughtful comments, everyone! I’m making my Sunday batch of bolognese right now, or I’d be inspired to go out and get a combo after all this!

JFD