If democracy matters to us

Almost everyone I know considers themselves a friend, family member – parent, spouse, sibling, child, cousin or other relative – an employee, teammate, buddy, sewing circle or book club member or coffee klatch participant. Very few people define themselves as citizens or patriots. Most of us are reluctant Republicans or Democrats, too often wedged into choosing the lesser of two evils or, as Ralph Nader famously put it, picking between Tweedledee and Tweedledum come election time.

Almost none of us think government at any level is so broke that the tool required to fix it is a gun...