I always say, the modern United States was forged in the Civil War and Reconstruction. I’d even go as far as to argue that before that we were more like the EU than we were like our modern country.
But it’s also interesting that even with a country such as the US where most citizens identify more strongly with the national than subnational identity - though that’s certainly not universally true by any means and is probably becoming less so as the 21st century marches on - the ideological divide can still be as toxic or more toxic to unity than in a looser confederation such as the EU. Personally, I wish (for both the US and EU’s sakes) that we humans were better at peacefully maintaining diverse cultural identities while still getting along well enough to constructively cooperate. But to quote a good book, if wishes were fishes we all cast nets. It seems as though fear, distrust and resentment are hard-wired into our brains enough that when we don’t actively try to overcome them, they become easy levers for the slimy tentacles of opportunistic politicians such as Marine Le Pen.
