Conservatives who argue that this is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles planted in a Christian civilization have as their first duty neither the defense of the Constitution nor fealty to the flag but loving our neighbors as ourselves, and this is as much a public and political duty as it is a private and spiritual one. Which means, at the very least, that we should not want our neighbors and fellow citizens to be afraid, and that we must not enjoy their fear nor profit by it. We must love them even as we disagree with them, even as we understand that at least some of their fears are irrational or unfounded. (It is very likely that as I write these words Charles C. W. Cooke is down in Florida building another AR-15 in his garage, and the public peace will be in no way endangered by this, however much anxiety such rifles may cause in some people.) It is only in a politics of charity — meaning a politics of love — that we can liberate ourselves from the politics of domination and humiliation and the fear of domination and humiliation. Two-thirds of Americans call themselves Christians, and it would cause radical social change if they started acting — not only in their private lives but as citizens — as though they meant it.

Sneer at that proposal if you like — Americans have become great sneerers — but it is much more practical than setting up independent republics in Texas and Northern California, or, even sillier, trying to govern a nation of 330 million people as though 165 million of them did not exist.