Earlier this week, I spent a long, long day—from 5:30 a.m. until 8:20 p.m.—as a poll worker. As always, I came home exhausted, feeling virtuous, civic-minded, and happy. I always have a great time.

I begin with a research story, a true one. In the early 1950s, the social psychologist Muzafer Sherif and his colleagues conducted a now-classic experiment, on intergroup conflict and resolution of ...

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. One of the most sensible kids, DK, was the star this week. His ...