From Harvard Magzine, the Internet, by allowing like-minded individuals to self-segregate, has had a polarizing effect on democracy, suggests Cass Sunstein; Theda Skocpol and Suzanne Mettler on the crisis in access to higher education, and a strategy for moving beyond elite handouts for the lucky few; and a review of On Deep History and the Brain by Daniel Smail. From Bookforum, Joseph Donahue reviews The Veiled Suite: The Collected Poems by Agha Shahid Ali. A review of Richard Bourne's Lula of Brazil: The Story So Far. Roger Scruton on the defense of the West: How to respond to the Islamist challenge. The North Worth Saving: We need a paradigm shift in the West that would pave the way for a genuine Northern Alliance of Russia, Europe, and North America. From Dissent, Rafael Khachaturian on the specter of Russian nationalism. From The Nation, here's a taxonomy of Russian criminal tattoos. From Eat the State!, an interview with Paul Krassner, a would-be Dude from "The Big Lebowski" if The Dude had done something with his life (and more). From The Guardian, here's a history of the smiley face symbol, feelgood corporate logo, acid house icon and txt msg emoticon. A review of Remembering Our Childhood: How Memory Betrays Us by Karl Sabbagh. From Triple Canopy, an essay on the crisis of authenticity in the age of immanent tinkering.