Kevin Drum, who lives in Orange County, CA, and blogs at Mother Jones, explains suburban attitudes from the inside:
It’s worth pointing out, too, that when I say suburbanites “like” this stuff, it’s sort of like saying Goldman Sachs “likes” making money. They really, really like it. They aren’t being tricked and they don’t need their consciousnesses raised. And they can be vicious.
Living in suburbia is like living in an entire community full of Sarah Palins: friendly enough if you leave them alone, but pit bulls if you try to change anything they don’t like. And remember: these aren’t people who are alienated from the system, they are the system. If you try to force change on them, they have the time, the money, the education, and the connections to fight you until you’re completely exhausted. And they will. They will never give up.
Interview here.
there’s a minor difference between what Mr. Drum describes and reality — suburbanites are increasingly broke, so that whole ‘time, the money, the education, and the connections’ is not exactly true.
time? yes. no jobs.
money? no.
education? maybe. not important.
connections? no.
further:
motivation? no.
despair? yes.
rage? yes.
depression? yes.
etc.
none of this adds up to effective policy making, or effective resistance to change. it’s just wishful thinking.
Drum does point out the obvious. Choices differ for those with and without children, and by age group.