Talk:Millennium/@comment-24142455-20150511144811/@comment-12161342-20150512155507

True, but there are several gaping flaws in your argument. First of all, the European countries in question have been around in some form or another(though borders have always been changing) for thousands of years in some cases. That is plenty of time for a strong sense of national and ethnic identity to take root. However, in the USA, the states weren't around for long enough before unification to develop the ethnic identities you point out. Sure, there may be some hints of it here and there, but it is all vague and faint, nothing like the strong, well-defined ethnicities we see in Europe.

Secondly, the USA was colonized by multiple ethnicities, and the way history just so happened to unfold led to great mixing of these ethnicities. The USA wasn't nicknamed the Great Melting Pot for nuthin', ya know. However, in Europe, you do not see nearly as much mixing between ethnic groups. This too shows why your argument pertaining to the States having ethnic groups falls flat. The great mixing that took place in the USA helped keep strong ethnic identities from establishing across entire states, for the most part. However, the lack of mixing in the European countries is extremely beneficial to forging strong ethnic divisions between countries, to the point where wars are fought over ethnic tensions on a daily basis, such as the conflict in Ukraine(look it up, its roots trace back to an ethnic split between the east and west ukranian regions). You don't see states picking fights with each other because of ethnic tensions, do you? Even the Civil War wasn't really ethnic in nature, it was mainly sparked due to politics and slavery.

Marc, your argument has less armor than a WW2 destroyer. And I just fired two torpedoes at it. If you wish to keep going, I have a MASSIVE argument I can use to shoot you down entirely, but trust me, it is an argument that you REALLY don't want to hear. But if you wish...., I will state it.

My sources: AP US History, multiple advanced honors-level courses in both US and European affairs, and general knowledge.