Three hundred million souls cannot coexist in a nation with such fundamental differences. Whereas in the past a policy disagreement might involve the marginal rate of taxation, it is instead today the very legitimacy of the state itself, together with the culture and history that undergirds it. Such are the fruits of the Left putting difference, not commonality, as the steeled cap on their political battering ram.
The cost of diversity is increased authoritarianism. Differences can be resolved only by the firm hand of the government.
It is a little-appreciated fact that freedom coexists unobserved amid similarity. This basic fact renders impotent much of the wishful libertarianism often seen on the Right: Only when you agree on the fundamentals can you place such an emphasis on liberty. The 95 per cent which is agreed upon will dull the effect of the five per cent of disagreement.
It would be better to head things off early. The myopic nature of all modern Western governments precludes that, however. An attempt to stave off the disaster may only happen when it’s all too late: Like many of these things, it will come gradually, then all of a sudden.