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The monolithic mainstream culture of the 20th century helped define what it meant to be American. But it was un-American at heart. The phrase E pluribus unum aside, America was founded on fragmentation--by people fleeing religious, political and cultural "community" in the Old World. Nearly 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that a strength of the new nation was its abundance of space. Here, unlike in Europe, the citizens could be united when they needed to and be alone when they wanted to. In an older, more crowded America, we find that space virtually--inside a screen, a book, a set of headphones. This is our last frontier, and it goes on forever.