If you want to de-polarize America, bring back meaningful federalism. The government in Washington is no longer federal in its character. It has become the national government our founders warned us about. The individual 50 states ought to be doing as much as possible, and the federal government as little as possible. But that's not what we've got.

We're a nation of some 330 million people, of diverse religions and ethnicities, geographies and economies. Who in his right mind believes one-size-fits-all solutions should be expanded to include every aspect of life? We need political diversity to go along with the diversity I just described.

What that means is that Americans are going to have to get used to leaving one another alone. In other words, New Yorkers are going to have to allow Alabamans to live in their "ignorance," and Mississippians are going to have to allow Californians to live in their "sin."

The upside of this political diversity is what some have characterized as "50 laboratories for democracy." Each state will have the benefit to try, and to succeed or fail; and, just as importantly, to see what neighboring states are doing and learn thereof.

But I'm arguing that no shuffling of chairs at the national level will do anything to reduce polarization. We need to stay out of one another's business. Good fences make good neighbors.