The Boston Tea Party signaled the end of the colonial merchants’ patience with taxes they saw as unreasonable. This historic event of 226 years ago invites a 1999 replay in Oregon as the Legislature continues to look at the crazy-quilt of state highway taxes.

Feuds, viewed from the sidelines, can draw laughter or tears or just yawns. This comfortable detachment, however, can quickly vanish when the scrap begins to inflict on the spectators what the military likes to call collateral damage.