Canary in a Park Shelter

There was a time when we Americans were pretty sure democracy was invented here and saw it as our duty to share our creation with the rest of the world. Today, we treat democracy the way we treat immigrants. With suspicion. As an intruder. An imposition.

There was a time—before the great seclusion—when citizens gathered in town halls to hash out their differences and campaigning for public office was done door to door or in public squares. Anyone who does door-to-door canvassing nowadays can tell you that few answer when doorbells are rung, even when lights are on and entire families can be plainly seen through windows, waiting for the person at the door to give up and go away.

Where people do gather—shopping centers, sporting events—democracy is unwelcome, even in locations branded as public spaces like Milwaukee’s Public Market. The most public of undertakings, the act of figuring out together how to govern ourselves, is forbidden there. Learned the hard way, was shown the door.

When p…