John Paget

As a frequent visitor, one of the things I love most about New York City is that its population has retained its sense of superiority even as patriotism of the nationalistic sort has become gauche. Many who live there really believe, deep down in their bones, that it’s New York or nothing, that it’s the greatest city on earth. I love that. For those outside its orbit, this reads as elitism, which of course, it is. But this value-free, “all places are the same, none are better than others” is exactly the kind of relativity liberalism we should resist. You too should believe the place you live is the best place on earth. It should mean something to you. And if it doesn’t, it could be because it’s a cultureless / history-less non-place of the sort ubiquitous in America. But it doesn’t have to be forever; you can change this. You can make your place worth loving. Despite all its cosmopolitanism and its diversity, nyc’s superiority complex is an essentially conservative sentiment, and a good one. The woman in this video clearly expresses gratitude to the place she lives; she feels the need to give back. She should feel that way. We should all feel that way about the places we move to, and the places we’ve long lived in. New York City, and everywhere else Americans live, is not an abstract market. It’s a place with history and culture and beauty that demands something of us. If the place you live feels more like an abstraction than a distinct place, if you could up and leave without telling anyone, if you know nothing of its history, that’s not good. You should strive to make it mean more to you, by making it better. Weirdly the most common response to the OP is something like : “as an American I will live damn well wherever I want,” exactly the kind of rootlessness nyc is constantly accused of. “I have obligations to no place; I ought be accepted anywhere.” NYC, regardless of what you think about it, is justly loved by many. It provokes a strong reaction that some love and some hate. It is distinct, and thus, not for everyone. The places we live should be distinct, and it is right to feel love and gratitude towards them