1. Friedman almost gets it here. But this is not Civil War, Part II. Technically, it's Civil War, Part III. The Revolutionary War was a civil conflict. And that's the point he's missing: Unity is not America's default setting. With a few exceptions, we've *always* been divided.
2. What makes the current fracture so serious is that the country's previous ruptures both ended in violence. And that isn't really on the radar of most Americans now.
3. Americans have a bizarre faith that we're not capable of devolving into a chaotic, violent civil conflict. It reminds me of how respectable, knowledgeable people once said it was impossible for Donald Trump to become president even though data suggested otherwise.
