As Ukraine recoils from Russia's intense military pressure, I wonder whether democracy will indeed triumph when the history of the Cold War is written, or whether Russia specifically, and authoritarianism more generally, will prove the more powerful force.

After the Cold War, the American self-image became that of the "sole superpower." We were the only 800-pound gorilla in the world, and therefore we could do what we pleased without having to worry about any other country's ability to stop us. Russia, under Putin, is reasserting itself as the second weighty gorilla in the room.

The quest for certainty, both in philosophy and law, offers ample evidence of philosophical failures. But humans have a need for philosophy, so embracing the humanistic, organic philosophy of Aristotle, Burke, Tocqueville, Berlin, Havel, and many others is where I think individual and social fulfillment can be found.

Many of our framers, the chief architects of the United States Constitution, most clearly did not have these measures in mind.

My thesis of American democracy holds that, as the original, bountiful, natural frontier faded into history, America gradually turned toward a different frontier -- national public authority, i.e. "the government" -- to extend the benefits of its democratic experiment.

In this series, I approach America as an organic system undergoing democratic alteration and degeneration and I pose important considerations as Obama America faces the transformational challenges of an adverse environment.

Unless Republicans are able to suppress voting across the country, it is now mathematically impossible for Romney to win the election.

Taxes are not a punishment. And they aren't a transactional payment for what you directly get back. They are the price of your liberty and of keeping your team in good shape. What can look like a sacrifice is actually a sacred and immeasurable gain.

Thanks to the Republicans' favorite pseudo-historian David Barton, "American exceptionalism," a nineteenth century insult about the undeserved prideful nature of Americans is being proudly touted by Republicans everywhere. The irony is killing me.

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America offers profound insights into the early republic and the ways that wealth and political power were dispersed and separated.

The goal: present to you, between now and Election Day, single-sitting passages from the classic texts of American democracy. Substantial enough to spark ideas and prod debate; short enough to read on a coffee break.

Politics aside, in order to promote economic growth, work must be done to restore the trust-growth connection, and in order to restore this connection, policies that reduce income inequality can help rebuild trust by reducing social distance.