massacre. that's what made us different, really different. we were going to be the kind of country where even soldiers were going get the protections of law because we wanted those protections for ourselves. we wanted everyone to honor the law. think of george washington, who after serving two terms as president could easily have ruled this country like a dictator, who gave up all the trappings of office and went back to virginia. this is not some place where a guy who fightser for independence was going get the chance to become ruler for life and grab it. we're going to be a country where power, even out of our popular hero, was going to be limited. think of our free press, of people like thomas payne who wrote a pamphlet called "common sense" who demanded this country have independence. and more than that, we were going to be the kind of independent country as thomas jefferson advised where people if having to choose would demand a free press over any kind of government trying to deny one. these are the american principles which are now under stress, of course. more than, that the world is watching us. less than a year ago, we were the country the world looked up