By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel

The protests recently from the various tea flavored parties have made me realize that we already have a mechanism, a system, 50 of them actually, to bring government home. In fact, I think that would be a good chant for a lot of people across the many lines of divide we see: Bring government home!

The Federal government seems to be showing its weight. There’s a lot of government in government and our schools at home need a new roof. The Washingtonians complain about the mall needing upkeep, the monuments need cleaning. Tell you what, you want a mall? We’ll send you one of our abandoned ones.

Friends living in the DC area remark how, despite the recession (what recession, they chuckle), the government is still a great cash cow and those contracts are paying the mortgage just fine. They complain about the traffic. Wisely they tell me that the government, as this administration continues to show, spending continues to grow.

There are historical parallels. Times in history when the Capitol just collected too much capital and became a bit too palatial. And the people in various ways said, no more. It seems to be that time. Rather, it’s time our States brought government home.

We do not need another revolution. What we need in these changing times is evolution. Our system of government is flexible and wise with experience. Government needs to come home to allow the people and the government to be closer. We’re suffering from distance fatigue.

What this will really mean is bringing the money home, too. Bringing it home will mean different things to different people in detail. And the beauty is always in the details. As an architect friend always remarks while smiling, “…it’s all about the finishes.”

Bring government home…it’s lost.