So went Ben Franklin’s famous line. I’m too lazy and rushed to look it up and see if it’s legit or part of the crazy history created by sociopaths to keep the gullible nut burgers in line. It applies either way, because Libya appears to be on the doorstep of national independence.

The vast majority of Libyans live on or near the coast

Libyan rebels swept into Tripoli and captured two of Qaddafi’s sons as the battle to end his 42 years of autocratic rule arrived at the doorstep of his presidential compound. President Barack Obama said Qaddafi must recognize he “no longer controls” Libya as celebrations broke out in Tripoli’s Green Square, the location for pro-government rallies in recent months.

Welcome Libyans, to the club of nations that had to fight and die to throw off a brutal tyrannical rule. You have very good company including Mexico, Philipines, Poland, France, Italy, and of course the United States, and well, pretty much most of the western world at one time or another.

Back when those 13 little colonies first got word the British were throwing in the towel, one of the first things they did was start feuding bitterly and enacting Sedition Laws. Congress argued so voraciously it sometimes came to blows. Factions arose, joined, splintered, and reformed. Eventually the nation almost blew apart in the Civil War.

Republics are not easy to keep. But Libya has a shot at one. Libya is not over-populated, they have high quality crude reserves already developed, they have a fertile coast and, for a desert nation, a surprising amount of arable land. They’re also tribal, local, heavily influenced by religion, of diverse origin, and in general organized more on the coastal city-states weakly controlling vast wild territories model than on a competent central government. Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but that sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Libya has a chance, the next year or two will be absolutely critical to what kind of nation they become. Right now hopes are high and the future uncertain. If the transitional government can indeed transition into an albeit messy but functional and growing government that greatly improves the lives of regular citizens, then NATO, the EU, and yes the Obama administration, will have out neocon’ed the PNAC neocons for about what Bush’s Iraq blunder cost in a single week, and without losing a single US service member.