"This nationalist duality has intensified the battle over the border wall. The conflict is not really about the barrier’s physical composition, length or cost. Rather, it is about which conception of the nation will prevail. To civic nationalists, locking out migrants betrays the creed they hold dear. Racial nationalists are convinced that people of color and Muslim faith are invaders bent on subverting their America, abetted by cosmopolitan elitists. These attitudes have been rolled into already polarized party identities. And because American voters are fixated on the national narrative, candidates, officials and mediated voices in every state must attend to the issue."