With news that Egyptian President Mubarak has finally stepped down after 30 years in power, freedom loving people the world over rejoiced. As a vociferous proponent of human liberty wherever humans may reside, I share in that joy. However, it’s important to realize that this is but a first, tiny step down the path to liberty, one which may well be followed by two steps back. The question the Egyptian people now face is this: What government do we wish to make for ourselves?

The last shot in the Revolutionary War, where Americans similarly decided they had been ruled by the same tyrant long enough, was not the end of our struggle but the beginning. What came next, while not as costly in terms of human lives, was arguably far more difficult; I’m talking about the task of establishing a lasting government of the people, and which would be their servant instead of their master.

Representative governments are hard work. Tyranny, oppression and poverty are the natural state of human affairs and not easily overcome. It takes more, much more, than just an election. Despotic countries the world over hold elections all the time. True representative government requires democratic institutions and civic culture. The people have to  live, breath and feel freedom not just for a few days or weeks, but for every moment of every day. As Ronald Reagan observed, even in the U.S., “freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction.”

The American Founding Fathers proved uniquely positioned in both place and time to capture a moment for freedom. They exhaustively debated the form of their new government, drawing upon centuries of wisdom, and carefully crafted a tapestry of freedom from the innumerable threads of knowledge spun over the centuries in the wheel of human history.  They then took their ideas to the people, recognizing that no government, however well designed, can be legitimate without the consent of the governed.

Are the Egyptian protesters prepared to make this long slog? Is their society ready for more than just elections, but the real cornerstones of democracy, like  tolerance and respect for the rights of fellow citizens, and civic participation? Or will they quietly fall back into old routines, accepting the authority of whatever figure emerges to fill the power void? They, like the American Founders, have a moment. What are they prepared to do with it?