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."