… is their constant refrain to ‘small town American values.’ You know what I’m talking about, Mom, little league baseball, apple pie, families out walking their babies, safe streets, community, friends helping out and the like.

But we never get any of that real community in America. One of the main reasons is that there is no safety net in America. Sure, conservatives love to call the European safety net ‘the welfare state’ and all the negative bogey-men and women, like welfare queens, that it conjures up. But it’s a lie. Here in Denmark for example, there is an extensive safety net. And one of the main results of that safety net is that people feel, wait for it, it’s coming: safe. They spend time engaged in their communities, they walk the streets at night, they greet each other, even as strangers, they have community festivals that all participate in and there are tons of mothers with newborns walking their strollers in the streets. (Look, Denmark does have its share of problems, but not on an American scale, not by a long-shot.)

But in America it is literally every man and woman for him or herself. We are taught, indoctrinated, that at 18 you leave home, go to college (if you are lucky enough) and then when you graduate you make your own life. You don’t borrow money from your family, because you have a career, no matter how empty or hollow it is. You don’t, or can’t rely on friends, and of course you cannot rely on government.

It’s sad. No wonder Americans are so lonely, so many of us are in therapy, on anti-depressants, and or abusing prescription medications. Life in America is devoid of all those things that make life worth living: family, friends, and community engagement. Aren’t those the values conservatives espouse? (via notemily:purpleprimate: think4yourself: azspot)

That is a very European way of looking at things. Has this person ever been to a small town in America? I’m talking small town, not suburb of a big city. I grew up in several small towns and we had tons of moms, little leagues, and apple pie. We all knew our neighbors and there was plenty of good will to go around.

There were parades, marching bands, sporting events and school dances. My parents got together regularly with friends and we played with kids in the neighborhood.

Then we grew up and borrowed a lot money from our families? I still am borrowing money. I wasn’t forced out of home at 18? Most of them wanted to go to college. Most of them moved back home to live with their parents. Most of the people I know rely on their friends well into their 20s. I have yet to pay for a moving van.

Government? Now you might be getting somewhere.

I’m not trying to argue that there’s no problems with the small town ideal. I’m just saying they’re starting with a very weak argument.