I'm no professor, but when I look at America, all of it, I see a culture which seems committed to the idea that violence is not just the best, but the only solution to problems. The gun is at the heart of society, the ultimate symbol of power, both for and against authority.

I Britain, we look to conformity. If our immigrant communities are prepared to forget their former languages, change their clothing styles, give their kids English names and support the England team, they'll do fine, whatever their colour.

Neither idea is perfect, but we're all human. It just seems to me that the American idea is rather more damaging.