After President Bush's quick visit to Utah on Monday, locals were left to ponder some contrasts.

On one end was Willie Hunsaker, a 78-year-old Brigham City resident who served in World War II and who was honored by the president for his countless hours of voluntary service. Hunsaker painstakingly crafts metal crosses to mark military graves. He spends many hours in schools teaching flag etiquette to children, which has the added effect of teaching them respect for liberty and the sacrifices made by generations of Americans.

On the other end were noisy protesters who assembled not far from where the president spoke, some carrying an unflattering effigy of Bush, and many urging an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq in what would be an abject surrender to the forces who oppose freedom and liberty. They were led by Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, who was booed earlier in the day when he welcomed a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to his city.

The question is, which of these best represents the spirit that has made America great?

There can be little question that mass protests have been a part of the American landscape at least since the Boston Tea Party. Some of these have been constructive, such as Shays' Rebellion, which, in the late 18th century, put pressure on the nation to convene a constitutional convention to form a stronger central government, or such as the civil rights protests in the mid-20th century, the peaceful nature of which stood in sharp contrast to the brutal laws and leaders of the South.

But many of these have been counterproductive. This list includes the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, the Civil War draft riots in New York City in 1863, in which dozens of people, mostly blacks, were killed, and, to a less violent extent, modern protests that have a corporate feel to them, organized by special interests.

When the cause is just, Americans have been able to get results through protests, but those moments have been rare. Change happens more often through the ballot box, or through behind-the-scenes work by quiet volunteers. People like Willie Hunsaker.

The spirit of voluntarism is a thread that runs through the nation's history as well. Its core values are gratitude — for a heritage of freedom, for the sacrifices of others and for blessings that require something in return — and a strong sense of duty and honor. It is this spirit that sends many Americans abroad in the Peace Corps, or that leads Habitat for Humanity to construct low-income housing quickly. It is this spirit that moves neighbors to keep an elderly widow's lawn mowed or to keep trash off the sides of highways.

Without volunteers, government programs couldn't expand enough to keep order and peace, or to instill a sense of human dignity into the ideal of social justice.

Utahns saw examples of both Monday and could judge for themselves. The two are not always mutually exclusive, but protests must be judged on their merits. The ones here on Monday came at the same time Iraqis were struggling to produce a constitution that could bring them their first taste of real freedom.

People like Hunsaker, however, don't have to worry so much about timing. Their work, like the long line of American history itself, leads to a steady string of progress and improvement.