Here's another interesting example of subjective closeness and distancing:
If I were you, I'd tell her all about it.

If you are a pacifist, I'm Martin Luther King.

The "past" (distant) form in the protasis ("if" clause) of the first example followed by the "would" form of the modal creates an obvious hypothetical distancing between reality and unreality. In the second example, the listener is the one who has used the close form of the verb because he believes, or wants to make others believe he is a pacifist.