Government is not only compatible with competence; it is a profound source of competence. When we recognize our place in an immensity of people and in the pass

Government is not only compatible with competence; it is a profound source of competence. When we recognize our place in an immensity of people and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of public life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely civic. The notion that government and competence are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.