Several years ago, I was the sponsor for a guy going through conversion from what he was (in a religious sense) to Catholic. He wasn’t just any guy; he was a very senior CIA officer who has frequently appeared on television since he transitioned to think-tank denizen. The Rite of Christian Initiation as an Adult (RCIA) experience builds a bond between sponsor and candidate/catechumen that often goes beyond religious conversations. On one occasion, we talked politics and foreign policy.What separates us from the Third World in our politics, he opined, are the twin concepts of peaceful transfer of power via...