Agreed it’s incredibly unrealistic, but something has to give. We’re quickly approaching a country where there are two overarching groups with near zero overlap on their vision for society. That cannot end well.

My guess is as the American empire [slowly] declines that city states will become centers of power, perhaps with rural, conservative areas finding power via wealthy “lords” assuming the parts where the state decays. The groundwork for this new fuedalism is already being put in place.