Having returned from my current home in New York City to my childhood home in Switzerland for the holidays, I’ve been struck over the past two days by the frequency with which people here ask me about New York’s mayor-elect Bill de Blasio.
People here have a curiosity unbounded by the pre-conceived notions that so frequently limit politically-tinged conversations in New York. Indeed, in New York City, most casual conversations seem to avoid the topic of local political candidates altogether, for people fear treading on thin ice, where tolerance is frail.
Most people who do engage in exchanges of a political nature in New York, meanwhile, tend to already be ardent supporters of one candidate over another. And they have little interest in hearing perspectives that don’t preach to their own choir. Of course, the fact that you’ll find more steadfast supporters political candidates—and fewer open ears—in New York than in small-town Switzerland may not seem surprising. The stakes, obviously, are a lot higher for locals, meaning New Yorkers. What might seem more striking, however, is that New Yorkers with less steadfast convictions seem to hold little interest in gaining perspectives on local political candidates. These are the undecided. How do they decide? And what’s been in the news in Switzerland to bring mayor-elect Bill de Blasio to the forefront of casual conversations?
(Obviously, this is a hyper-overgeneralization, but still.)