Ben. You're my friend and I respect you so I'll hope you take this right way.

You're wrong.

Yes the America of today doesn't work as its supposed too. But the idea of burning the whole thing down and arguing for collaspe as a positive is not only insane but frankly as terrifying as the idea of it becoming a dictatorship.

There is no historical proof that when a democracy collapses something better comes along. Often what happens is civil war - which is what your advocating for, don't argue you're not. And because this is not the case of a sectional conflict, it will be the kind of balkanization of the United States.

i've heard this argument play out: America split into several countries on the same continent. That would result in a large part of population dying and the entire nation essentially becoming europe during World War I, WITH the possibility of our neighborhoods essentially looking like Sarajevo or Ukraine. Therr would be constant confilcts and America which has been a mostly a continent of peace for its history, would be one where rival nations engage in suicide bombings on an hourly basis. That, I should add is the BEST case scenario.

All of this for the record argues we could come up with a better system. Even if the far right was not implacable with the far left - where we agree - the fact that the left has no clear path forward for what a new government looks like - indeed has in truth been hostile to any democratic form of government since before the Civil War - would lead to further and greatet fractures. The right knows what it wants. The left still doesn't. The left is great at burning things down. But as someone whose been on this sight longer than you and read more political columns I can assure, they have no ideas as to what would work. Believe me, I've asked them. Their de facto reaction is to ignore me or call me an extremist.

I believe a large part of America's problem is ignorance but not the kind you think. I believe the current generation has made the decision that America's history is irredeemable and therefore unworthy of them. They think this is a new position. It isn't: it's one dating back to the days of William Lloyd Garrison. The left has in fact been regurgitating this for last two undred years and this generation now seems to take it as gospel. The problem is that they are still horribly blind of an actual solution. The world can not change through violence alone. There has to be a forward momentum. When a government is overthrown, something has to come afterwards. And history is full of countless horrible examples: USSR, China, Cuba, Iran, America is still one of the only examples in history of an oppressive regime or empire being overthrown and something that is a step forward. All the other times in history in happens either the oppressive regime stomps down on it hard and the movement and leaders are killed or something far worse emerges. There is no third option. The Arab Spring made that very clear.

The problem with our society in America - and indeed the world - is that society has become so technologically advanced that we as a nation believe that the big changes in our society should be possible as easily as downloading the most recent app. The founding fathers are blamed for not being able to foresee today's society. We don't blame them for not being able to foresee the automobile, the steam engine, the telephone, the internet or the airplane so why are they supposed to carry the burden for not ebing able to see people who'd live in that world?

No one can tell me what a full democracy is. And I remain unconvinced that the people of today, who are largely uneducated, who can't name most of the bill of rights, who can't name their own elected officials, and an entire generation who won't move beyond the range of their own cellphone, could come up with a function system of government. Humanity has always been driven on the idea that somehow things can be better. But no two people have been able to agree on that

And don't blame the educational system. You can make our schools palaces you can't make people want to be there. I don't mean want to learn; I mean be there. oUR SChools whether private or public, parochial or secular, all run against the idea that you can not force an individual to learn what they do. Most of us forget what we have learned in. I don't blame our schools for failing us. I'm astounding anyone wants to go their in the first place. Our parents drop us there for a place to go when we're working and really don't give a damn what we learn there because they don't really care that much.

And don't blame the past for being the past. That bullshit about African-Americans and women not having rights is irrelevantr. You're doing what everyone today does: blaming everybody who didn't live today for not having the values of today when no one did. They did the best they could with what they had. Not their fault. Of course their language is from a different world. It's our failt that we don't do enough work NOT THEIRS.

The only ansswer to the question in your opening paragraph is: "Of course they are." And if you even consider tha,t, well, I want more than idea of tearing at down. I want a complete, detailed and fully idealized plan of what happens the day after we set fire to everything. You had better come up have a complete contingency for everything that possibly can - and no doubt will go wrong along the way. You had better be able to sell it to everybody you talk to. And you'd better start with me, because I'm the hardest sell imaginable. I will pick out every single flaw in that plan, show the weaknesses in it and tell you that if Plan A doesn't work you ahve a plan B, C all the way to Z for what happens next. And once you answer all of those questions from me, you're going to have tell me what you're planning to do for it.

Because those founders, the ones you seem dismissive of, they were willing to die for it. They knew the possibility of them dying was a strong one. They EXPECTED too, in fact. So not only do you have to sell me on that, you have to convince me that you'll be willing to put your neck on the scaffold. And then convince everyone else too..

And if you can do that, THEN AND ONLY THEN will I talk about going forward. Until that day, this remains as academic as everything else.

I'm sorry if that sounded strong. But honestly, you and everyone else - need to hear that.