A cheesehead’s view of the world
I travel around America, most regions seem more class conscious than Wisconsin, at least compared to Madison, Wisconsin back in the 1960s. Like almost everyone there, I went to public schools. I never even knew whether the other students came from a family of doctors, lawyers or janitors. When I got to Boston, I was surprised by the fact that you could tell a lot about a person’s class by their accent. I was shocked to find that some towns reserved their beaches for residents only. Or that there were gated communities. (Today, I live in a gated community and I still hate the idea.)
I taught a semester in London in 1986 and then a semester in Australia in 1991. In a standard political sense, Britain seems more left wing than Australia. The British government certainly spends more on social programs. But Australia seems to have a more egalitarian culture. I’d make a similar comparison between Wisconsin and Massachusetts.
Because of the egalitarianism I imbibed growing up, I am very averse to any form of tribalism. I dislike right wingers that demonize various races and gender preferences, but I also dislike left wingers that demonize the rich or straight white males. Indeed I’d favor the French approach of not even having the government collect data on ethnicity, and I’d copy the Swedes by having the government treat everyone as a single person for taxation purposes. I’m a radical individualist egalitarian utilitarian. America’s president is a public servant—I view him no differently from a butler or chauffeur. He works for me.
