Back again to the "we're not worrying about the life that's here, only the putative life to come" issue. I really admire your wide knowledge of our (USA; I'm with the Canadians amd Mexicans on resenting"American" as exclusive for us) history, political system, and issues. There is considerable evidence that high school kids graduating in Virginia, across the river from DC, can't name the last 5 presidents or the current vice-president (isn't THAT an appropriate play on words...), and that much of the rest of the country is worse, though at least the current polarization has waked a few people up....