It's low-hanging comedic fruit, ripe for the picking by late-night television talk show hosts. Folks out shopping or strolling a city street are stopped at random and quizzed on their knowledge of civics, democracy and American history. An excerpt from an actual interview: Question: ...

Most historians place the birthplace of democracy in ancient Greece and also pinpoint it as the location where voting first took place. It didn’t encompass everyone – women and slaves were among those excluded – but it allowed for people to have a say in how they were governed and not ...