Nepal, Aug. 3 -- Nepalis have always taken pride in their perseverance, but that doesn't always sit right with me. There is a thin line between perseverance and complacency. Perseverance is acting to change a situation. What we usually do is shrug and say, "Eh, happens here all the time." Either our threshold for happiness is too low, or we have been taught to accept things as they are and to not question authority.

I hate it when people say that we do not deserve democracy. It is not a matter of deserving it as much as it is about learning to practice it. The definition of democracy as we know it-of the people, by the people and for the people-is much more than just conducting elections and voting. We put it into practice in our everyda...