Thought about this some more while skating at a rink with my kids, hip hop pounding through my skull (which actually helped with the in-line skating, which is harder than it looks). The bit about countries competing for citizens in the future like cities do inside America today got me thinking that maybe Israel does speak to the future of globalization more than I give it credit for (so tied is it in regional security issues). There's no question that Israel is one of the most globalized economies and societies in the world. It really has no choice, given the regional hostility and the small size of its market (it's like . . . a major U.S. city). To start a business in Israel means you've gotta set your sights on so much more than Israel if you have any ambition for growth. Thus, by all descriptions, Israel's got a risk-tolerant entrepreneurial environment second only to the U.S. (really, it's the two of us and the rest of the world), and frankly, for this Gentile (who never felt more Catholic than the moment when I met my Jewish girlfriend's father my freshman year in college and realized that no matter what she or I felt, this relationship was never going to go anywhere), that's my biggest attraction to the country (and why I think, along with its liberated women, it scares its neighbors so). So you think about an Israel and it's almost like a bedroom community within globalization: doesn't really have much to do with the neighborhood and other than a minimal domestic focus (the basics of life), its economy is largely outwardly focused. I mean, clearly, Israel's located there because of the Holy Lands, but other than that, Israel as a concept of concentrating the world's Jews could be anywhere (Ron White's got a funny bit on that). So putting aside the religious conflict issue, maybe Israel's a poorly appreciated model of what ethnic enclaving might eventually look like in the future: bedroom communities that attract specific ethnic groups with the promise of gated-community security. "Come here and be among your own!" Maybe we'll see states somewhat superseded by these ethnically-shaped urban entities. What triggered this thought, which I toss out like everything else in this blog (not to offend, but to share in real-time [or, "pontificate on" according to those whom I fear take this blog--and blogs in general--too seriously]), is the personal realization that I'm living right now in a state I would not otherwise choose (no offense to Indiana), and the reason why I'm living here is my wife's mother. "I married the eldest daughter," is my usual reply to the question, "why did you pick Indiana?" Admittedly, Indianapolis is a bedroom community as far as I'm concerned. I don't really work here, although we pay taxes, buy stuff from local vendors, and have our kids go to school here. But truth be told, we're here primarily according to the Meussling family's "law of return," which is a fairly universal one: marry the eldest daughter and you better expect to live within a short drive of your mother-in-law about the time she approaches retirement age. Frankly, we're sort of odd ducks here: pretty liberal couple (although the Dems can't really stand me for my foreign policy views) living in a Red Sea, where I couldn't even find a Democrat to vote for in local elections (because none were running)! So yeah, I sort of feel for Israel on that basis, and maybe now I'm wondering if their model is more workable than I realized. Of course, none of this logic erases the underlying demographic threat Israel faces. I'm just suggesting that Israel's fate is perhaps far from historically sealed. Plus, I guess I just wanted to end this series on a more hopeful note.