European Radicalism Has Come To Polite Society In America

Radicalism in America is not new, and like much of Europe it seems to be most popular amongst the well-off and the academy, who seemingly have too much time on their hands and not enough dirt underneath their fingernails. But they pretty much kept it to themselves, in particular the academics, who rarely entered polite society (people who work for a living) and were content to pontificate at faculty soirées and write scholarly articles that were read only by their peers.

For most of our history Americans have been reflexively dismissive of class structure, enjoying egalitarianism and its result, a vibrant and successful society. There is nothing quite so American about a rags-to-riches story, and it has been the reality here far more than in any other country on earth.

But class-structure and radicalism is emerging from the shadows and is becoming acceptable. That college students are unaware of the evils of socialism and consider it just another political and social structure is evidence enough that we have a difficult time ahead.

Here is a Swedish woman writing about her conversion. What struck me about her story is not the vile anti-Americanism of her peers -- that is to be expected in European society -- but that there are hints of the same attitudes here in America.

How 9/11 Made a European Upper-Middle-Class Radical a Conservative

Night fell and morning broke before I managed to get off that floor to answer my phone. On the other end I heard my boyfriend’s voice, chanting frantically:

Two more towers! Two more towers! Two more towers!

He and his friends were having a party, celebrating the attack on America. He called to invite me, and to this day I have never felt such intense shame.

posted by CBD at 12:15 PM

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