Why were England and its North American colonies unable to resolve their differences peacefully?

As the warden in Cool Hand Luke would say, what we've got here is, a failure to communicate.  The colonies were established in 1607, and here we were, almost a century and a half later, and much of the colonies had grown into its own society.  We had our own dialects.  We had a mix of ethnicities and religions.  We had a dual economy north and south, with a mostly independent one in the West.

So by the mid 18th century, it was difficult for us to see eye to eye on much of anything.  Still, most Americans did not want to declare independence.  It seemed silly.  The series of events, though, through the French and Indian War and the taxations and restrictions that took place afterward, it became increasingly clear that divorce was a real possibility.

As each incident, from the Stamp Act Congress/Riots to the Boston Massacre, and finally Lexington and Concord, a gulf continually widened between the King and the colonies, so much so that when cooler heads tried to prevail with the Olive Branch Petition, it was too late.