In those days, we managed to ease the pain by agreeing to temper the dream. With the New Deal, we toned down the adamant commitment to absolute individual fulfillment. We woke up our dormant response to the comfort and warmth of the communal. We discovered we could savor realistic contentment; we didn’t need to keep panting after triumph. Many of us in the bleachers learned to enjoy the game as fully as those few behind home plate. By reordering our inner attitudes, we produced the outward political will to remake the nation.

Can we do it again?