The US states were all founded by people who were generally of the same culture heritage, spoke the same language, had the same religious tradition (mostly British). In that sense, it began with a meta-culture based on shared values. It's all there in our founding docs. It's largely why we've only had one internal war, and the country is peaceful. It isn't true that that US govt manages the states. Each state manages its own affairs to varrying degrees of success. And even though there are 50 different states you can go to LA, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas and have a fairly homogeneous experience. Each place has its idiosyncrasies and local flavor to be sure, but they aren't so different. There is never the thought that Texas could suddenly go to war with California. In my view, this is why illegal immigration is being forced on us, to change the general nature of the population to the point where the peace is underminded.
Discussion
The founding docs refer to the original 13 Colonies; not to states like Louisiana, Alaska, New Mexico, Washington, Texas, Florida, or Hawaii.
The United States has been around since 1776. Nearly 250 years.
Americans, mostly Western European (primarily British), founded the contiguous 48 states one at a time. Mexicans didn't found the modern states of Texas or Florida. They couldn't control the region north of the Rio Grande, let alone keep it safe. The entire American west was a non-stop war zone until Americans went there and pacified it.
The EU was also founded by Western Europeans.
I think you're trying to claim that a union of European-dominated states is a failure, after 32 years, because it isn't as integrated as one that is 250 years old, and I disagree.
I think we're off to a pretty good start. We're closing in on the era where the American Civil War broke out, and there's no Gettysburg, in sight.
I simply wonder if a union of European states can be anything but authoritarian. When I say America is western European in its founding, I mean British. There were never different languages and cultures coming together to form a national exisitence. The American Civil War was political, not ethnic. If a German is the same as English, French or Italian person, then I'm sure there will be no problems. If they are different, coercion is the only way to ensure they get along.
Okay.