I've noticed a growth in Spike and definitely in myself. I feel like the seeds that he planted in me five years ago have ripened up to a place where I could even tackle this role in the way that I did.
We know from our own history that democratic institutions take decades to mature, and we know from past conflicts that freedom is not free.
You may be pulling from different influences because of different things that are going on in your life, different people that are around you and more experiences to pull from.