It started with a few business owners, frustrated at what they thought was the injustice of their situation. Over the years, they had been effectively silenced by the government and were seeing their dreams dashed on the rocks of high costs and oppressive mandates. Farmers, merchants, shop owners in small towns, big businesses in the heart of cities, all were affected and they knew something had to change.

So first they tried to talk to the government and were shown the door, and not particularly politely, either. They were told that what they were paying was what they owed and no more. They were told by the government "Robbin' Hoods" that they had been very profitable, and that it was time they share their success with others. And their costs continued to soar.

Some left for other states, others simply closed shop. A few, though, had a vision. Their vision was one of prosperity, where owners and workers could forge their dreams into reality through hard work and honest wages. But there was one obstacle, one huge obstacle that heretofore no one had thought of challenging. That obstacle was the government itself.

By then, government — the democratic legislature — had lost the confidence of many people. It was insensitive to their needs, and often viewed as corrupt, where influence was a commodity to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. The common good was not an objective. Instead, government reached into the hands of every hardworking citizen and business owner to siphon the profits of labor away to feed the insatiable desires of the powerful and the elite.

It was in this environment that a few decided it was time for a change. A big change. A change that would reverberate throughout the world. It was a line drawn in the sand, a Rubicon to cross, a moment that an infinite number of cliches have been created to describe. But it was going to happen. The magnitude of the task paled in comparison to the will of those who called for change to accomplish their objectives.

And so, on April 19, things changed.

Things changed slowly, painfully, at first. Those accustomed to the status quo ante called into question the rationale for such radical moves. The discomfort changed to acrimony and deep divisions arose between the various factions. But it was going to happen. The wheels set in motion on April 19 could not be stopped. The inexorable progress of change continued and the goals ultimately were reached.

It took more than six years, but on October 19, 1781, the American people gained their independence from the British Empire at the Battle of Yorktown. The first shot for freedom, fired at Lexington Bridge on April 19, 1775, was not in vain. The United States of America was born.

April 19, 2005 is also the one-year anniversary of SB 899: California's workers' comp reform. It will be marked by protests orchestrated by those whose economic fortunes are tied to a perpetually disabled class of hardworking Californians who are told their lives will never be the same once injured on the job. The cynicism with which their wholly owned subsidiary organizations should be viewed should be matched in compassion for those whose lives truly have been altered by on-the-job injuries.

The lesson of April 19, however, is not who won the latest conflict between injured workers and their advocates and employers and their advocates. This is not a battle to be fought in the halls and offices in Sacramento. Enough damage has been done there already.

The message of April 19 is that government continues to be an obstacle as much now as it was 230 years ago. The events leading up to Governor Schwarzenegger signing SB 899 were born of frustration over government's inability to do anything other than bend to the force of the prevailing special-interest wind.

There is no vision, there is no leadership in Sacramento. There is, instead, the irresistible urge to cater to special interests that can best guarantee politicians' next public-sector jobs. For those of you who claim to be advocates for the plight of injured workers, if you need to understand why there is an SB 899, look only to those who you are so willing to sponsor.

It took six and a half years from the first shot fired at Lexington until the last shot fired at Yorktown. For those in the business community in California who lament that change has not been instantaneous, Publius says the battle has just begun. You have won a resounding victory in a pitched battle, but you have not won the war.

If you have any lingering doubts about the fight you are in, come to Sacramento on April 27. The confirmation hearing before the Senate Rules Committee of Andrea Hoch as Administrative Director will be the next major confrontation between those whose economic fortunes depend on stopping the revolution that created SB 899 and those who defend what happened on April 19.

It is called a counterattack - and it is very important that it not succeed.