Deeply encoded in the American myth is the idea that every individual or family is an island. That we can (and some would say, should) operate without a society

Deeply encoded in the American myth is the idea that every individual or family is an island. That we can (and some would say, should) operate without a society around us. If you look at the country through that lens, it explains a whole lot of our policy and culture, much of which is otherwise nonsensical.