It’s comforting to know that you also find the behavior we are witnessing stupid and reckless.

When my friends are no longer discussing the school budget and sidewalks over coffee, but are instead wonking out over the composition of the National Security Council, our role in NATO and Mexican-American relations, it is very sobering. We never worried about these things before because we had the confidence that, no matter who was in power, thoughtful adults who knew more than we did were running the show.

The good news is people are getting one hell of a civics education.

Meanwhile, this weekend I start in on my taxes, everyone’s favorite. The truth is, depending on how things play out, I may benefit financially from changes coming down the pike.

But some things are more important to me than money. On the one hand we have the disturbing clown car of the administration. On the other we have a Republican House and Senate determined to dismantle aspects of the federal government I appreciate, such as the EPA (thank you, Richard Nixon).

People I know are not running around with their hair on fire. They are girding their loins and fighting for the things that matter to them.

To those who complain of hyperbole, disruption and obstructionism, I say the mirror is never kind first thing in the morning. I look forward to the Tea Party’s future moralizing on the virtues of compromise and good sportsmanship.