Letters to the Editor
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One of the basic problems is...
... that the following is in fact no longer true:
All of this is excruciatingly basic and obvious, really not much beyond what seventh grade civics students are taught about what distinguishes a Republic from a "dictatorship." [emphasis added]
Not to get all culture war, but one of the disturbing trends since, yes, the 60s, has been the de-emphasis on American history and especially American government in our schools. Not all -- perhaps not even many -- schools really engage students with the form of their democracy. Partly it's because conservatives believe government is eeeeviiiilll, so we shouldn't study it. Partly it's because liberals believe that the conduct of our government has been to repress the oppressed, so we should tear it down rather than study it. Mostly it's because any serious engagement will involve controversy and school administrations are notoriously controversy-averse.
But for whatever reasons, we've stopped teaching people about the Republic they inhabit. The past six years has been just a first payment on what's going to come due for that.