Actually Existing Diversity

I don't know if it's possible for David Brooks to get through an entire article without saying something I disagree with completely, and sure enough, his essay in the September Atlantic tacks on an off-the-cuff pitch for conscription near the end. That aside, it's one of the best pieces he's written -- a sharp analysis of Americans' capacity for "drawing amazingly subtle social distinctions and then shaping their lives around them."