Grover Cleveland said, “The ship of democracy, which has weathered all storms, may sink through the mutiny of those on board.’’ On Jan. 28, 1945 — 39 years, to the day, before I was born — my grandfather was shot and killed on the Dutch-German border. Growing up in Glasgow, I was the beneficiary of a sustained period of peace and prosperity on the Old Continent.

I moved to New England six years ago and became a dual citizen in October. I had the opportunity to vote in the Brexit referendum, but registration required that I complete a time-consuming form. Complacency took over — of course, the electorate would see sense — and I couldn’t muster the energy to look up my National Insurance number (a British equivalent of a Social Security number). Like the many Britons who waited until June 24 to Google “What is the EU?’’, it took me until that day to locate those nine characters.

There is a lesson here. In a democracy, complacency is complicit in the triumph of lunacy. Surely a majority of voters will see past a dangerous demagogue running for president. Don’t be so sure as to become complacent.

Ken Fraser

Boston