Our Inglorious Revolution

REVOLUTIONS can take place relatively unnoticed. The reason has often been given: that the most profound revolutions are not those that overturn institutions, but those that leave institutions standing while emptying them of all significance. Of course, institutions are too useful to remain empty; revolutionaries eventually fill them with a significance that suits their purposes. The Glorious Revolution of 1688, for example, kept the monarchy, but transformed the state into a “crowned republic.” Everything looked the same; but everything was different.

Are Americans living through a similarly invisible transformation? A striking feature of the current campaign is that not a single major candidate stands for the concept of America that was universally celebrated until about 20 years ago: America as an ethnic melting pot, in which is forged a new, unhyphenated American nation united by a common culture. Politicians of all parties, and countless Hollywood movies, saluted this unifying vision.

About the Author

John O’Sullivan

John O’Sullivan is a senior fellow at National Review Institute and a contributing editor of National Review.

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REVOLUTIONS can take place relatively unnoticed. The reason has often been given: that the most profound revolutions are not those that overturn institutions, but those that leave institutions standing while emptying them of all significance. Of course, institutions are too useful to remain empty; revolutionaries eventually fill them with a significance that suits their purposes. The Glorious Revolution of 1688, for example, kept the monarchy, but transformed the state into a “crowned republic.” Everything looked the same; but everything was different.

Are Americans living through a similarly invisible transformation? A striking feature of the current campaign is that not a single major candidate stands for the concept of America that was universally celebrated until about 20 years ago: America as an ethnic melting pot, in which is forged a new, unhyphenated American nation united by a common culture. Politicians of all parties, and countless Hollywood movies, saluted this unifying vision.