Sri Lanka, Nov. 6 -- The midterm election results were more of a wake-up call for both Democrats and Republicans than merely a means of sending new members to the US legislature. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken through the ballot box more loudly than the voices of dissent that erupted in Paris and other major European cities weeks ago.

In Paris, the youth-led protests reflected public anger against politicians and turned unruly. In the United States, however, it was a silent and orderly revolt against the political establishment, one that neither party can afford to ignore and must instead take stock of and learn from.

For the first time since the Vietnam War, during which the current billionaire President Donald ...