Americans do believe in progress and there is almost certainly a kernel of truth in the joke.

Americans have a penchant for the future and tend to disregard the past.

Future orientation is combined with a notion and expectation of progress, and nothing is impossible.

Americans often have trouble enjoying the present moment.

I mentioned that one of the tripartite formulas in American worldview involves time: past, present, and future.

Do I see fragmentation for the Linux kernel? There is certainly going to be some of that.