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A Reader Notes More Balkanization

From: [NAME WITH HELD]

I was watching the TV the other night and they had a little footage of Fred Lau, the San Francisco Chief of Police. He said, "This issue is of concern to our communities." Plural. So a major official sees San Francisco as a gaggle of ethnic enclaves rather than a single city.

It reminded me of my grade school education, in which the teachers always emphasized that the Civil War unified America, saying that before the war, people said, "The United States ARE..." and after the war people said, "The United States IS..." I have no idea whether that was actually the case or whether it was instead the education version of an urban legend. However, the civics message of a unified America was stated strongly enough for me to remember years later.

It's unfortunate that devolution has become fashionable through the use of misleading terminology ("multiculturalism," "diversity" etc.) and the constant harangues of the media.

March 25, 2001