I wonder to what degree the recent bifurcation in American politics may call for a slight return to more local governance. Much of the mistrust seems to origina

I wonder to what degree the recent bifurcation in American politics may call for a slight return to more local governance. Much of the mistrust seems to originate in the idea that the [coastals|hicks] will get an outsized say in their inverse communities. If Alabama wants to teach that the world is 10kyo then is that really the worst thing? I think it's pretty bad, I think that it dooms a generation of Alabamans to not work in STEM jobs (statistically), but the cost might be worth it to depressurize the political environment across the country. The other likely option seems continued mutual alienation and eventual political violence. I don't like the idea of leaving more liberally inclined pockets of Americans to the whims of their more conservative and populous neighbors but presumably the inverse is also true so it might be a worthy compromise. The final point I'll make is that the virtue of different approaches will be born out in the variable results of states approaches and vindicate or indict them, ultimately leading to a gradual consensus. Caveat: yes this would be super dangerous for a lot of liberal priorities (topically trans rights comes to mind). There is however the overriding reality that the legitimacy of government needs to be overwhelmingly accepted in a healthy democracy and telling 40% of the country to pound sand may be ultimately more counterproductive.