To Hell with Main Street?

It’s time to reassert the authority of we the people.

In times of trouble, Americans rally around a common cause. After Pearl Harbor, we liberated much of the world; during the Cold War, we sent a man to the moon. There was a shared sensibility that Americans were unified in pursuit of the highest ideals.

But after some shocks, this sense of unity proves short-lived—and shortsighted. After the tragedy of 9/…