Lately, we have heard lamentations from public intellectuals that the bonds of our union are fraying. It is worse now than at any point since the 1850s! And of course we all know what happened next . . .
Nonsense. Our union is all right. It may not be the happiest of moments in our nation's history — though it is far from the least happy! — but the state of our union is strong.
To me, this whole argument illustrates that we need a better class of public intellectuals — the current crop seems not to understand the origins of our country, the logic animating the Constitution, or most of the intervening history between then and now. And it is not for nothing that America to these folks is always on the precipice of greatness or disaster depending on the party affiliation of the current occupant of the White House.
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