This understanding means that the cure for the current dysfunction will be found at the ballot box rather than in the streets. And it is this collective commitment to the law governing how political power can be exercised that is the essence of liberal democracy.
尽管面临着美国几十年所未见的高度政治两极分化局面 （以及美国多地发自肺腑的对首位非洲裔总统的敌意），但美国人及其政客明白，破坏规则意味着破坏宪法粘合国体的作用。这一理解意味着当前僵局的解决方案将会来自选票箱而不是街头。而这一对依法治理政治权力的集体承诺能够执行正是自由民主的本质。