A man no longer has a wife who joins her fate with his. Instead, he has unlimited liability in a business arrangement that has a 50-50 chance of failure. In a work environment, he dare not hold a woman or minority accountable, as only he can be guilty by accusation alone of sexual harassment and racial discrimination. His paternal authority long gone, he cannot discipline his children without the risk of interference by Child Protective Services. The private loyalties that once united people have fallen to state intrusion.
Government now tries to regulate by law what formerly was regulated by behavior.
Conservative military analysts still worry and fret about a terrorist attack and a future adversary. But the adversaries many Americans experience are right here at home. They are more sanguine about Washington going up in smoke and less certain that life under a conqueror would be any different than it is today.