The Daily Responsibility of Democracy

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.

Much of America’s politics has descended into ignorant, juvenile stunts that distract us from the existential danger facing democracy. Citizens must take up the burden of being the adults in the room.

First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:

• The U.S. government UFO cover-up is real—but it’s not what you think.
• A must-see comedy about miserable people looking for love
• Not a world war but a world at war

Don’t Argue With Uncle Ned

One of the more rewarding parts of a newsletter like is that it allows writers to have an ongoing conversation with readers, and to return to themes and discussions over time. This is also a nice way of saying that now and then, I’m going to pull up something I wrote a while ago, because I when examining the word , I am something of a pedant, and the professor in me is always still lurking around here.)