New York remains a city of multi-cultural delights. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s long form
Given Andrew Sullivan’s emphasis on anomie as a factor in this year’s election campaign, the implication, which he himself failed to draw, is that the person best placed to deal with Trump would be none other than Bernie Sanders — fighting fire with fire.
No wonder Sanders was reluctant to stand down from the Democratic nominating process. Today, we have the unenchanting prospect of Trump trying to put on presidential airs, going from “making vague and meaningless promises, to specific meaningless promises,” in Stephen Colbert’s inimitable words.
At the same time, Hillary Clinton’s campaign seems dead in the water, with the passions of this election season by passing her completely. Ominous times may be ahead.
Life and Leisure
But there are always two facets to every situation and the US remains a nation of great opportunities, full of exceptionally hardworking and talented people. In every field, the moulds of past behaviour are being broken.
Everyone has heard of Uber and Airbnb, and I profited greatly from these services on this trip. For example, on a rainy Friday afternoon at 4pm (when the cabbies change shifts) in New York City, it is absolutely impossible to find an empty yellow taxi. A call to Uber and, two minutes later, I was on my way, though only by agreeing to pay a surge rate of three times the normal fare.
By the way, it is now official: Half. the yellow taxis in New York are conducted by Bangladeshis who are these days full of attitude and rough driving, and no longer the deferential and well-mannered men of the past.
The conversation is great though, and on one ride I was treated to a highly informed analysis of the whole Tonu rape case, including a strong identification of the culprits. The Bangladeshi drivers are as aggressive as any at the task of extracting a hefty tip.
In fact, one of the less pleasant aspects of American life these days is the almost extortionate pressure placed on one to pay tips of up to 30% in eating places of all stripes, from the fanciest to the most ordinary.
As I was particularly involved in the literary and media scene on this trip, I can vouch personally for the vigour with which such activities are carried out in New York. Aspiring writers are all over the place, honing their skills in different arenas, from blogging to workshops to self-publishing to MFA degrees. And the hope of literary success is no chimera, because a flood of books are published every year covering a fascinating range of subjects.
A trip to the local Barnes & Noble is a guaranteed exercise in frustration because one’s appetite is always far greater than one’s means, especially taking into account the weight considerations which hammer foreign travellers. But it does seem that real books are back in the game compared to e-books. Kindle sales are falling fast and even Amazon has seen fit to open what it calls its first “offline outlets.” The great magazines continue to flourish, offering writing and cartoons of such depth and intensity that they leap off the page.
I would like to mention in particular the consistently pertinent writings of Frank Rich, who left the New York Times, after a 20-year stint as one of its leading critics and commentators, to set up his stall at New York magazine. He has successfully helped raise the latter’s intellectual heft and substance which now fits seamlessly with its regular surveys of all aspects of New York’s entertainment and shopping services.
New York City’s services continue to take on new and wonderful contours. After the success of Eataly, the stylish self-enclosed Italian-inspired food court, we now have Le District which does the same for French cuisine. The SoHo region of the city is a most lively collection of designer boutiques and upscale hotels/ restaurants (try the NOMO where I was staying).
European accented neighbourhoods are only a stone’s throw from Chinatown’s delights. Nothing could better bring home New York’s exceptional civility and its fully multi-cultural mix. The joys of people-watching in the city’s streets and swanky venues have never been greater. If I may be permitted this appreciation, I have never seen American women, let’s call them “Newyorkesses,” as sharply dressed and with such trimness in their bodies, obviously the fruit of disciplined diets and exercise, as on this trip.
Perhaps we need a corrective: The “total equality and freedom,” which Plato (and Sullivan) worried about, may well have such complex riches to offer, that it will prove more of a long-term boon for the US than a drawback.
The great adverbial debate
I can’t leave without referring to an epic debate which broke out while I was in the US on the vexed question of the “adverb.” It is already a bit of a mania among a school of US writers, educators, and editors that the adverb is to be shunned like the plague.
An article by Christian Lorentzen hit the newsstands in which he strongly put forward this case (http://www.follownews.com/could-we-just-lose-the-adverb-already-1a208). It was not long however before an elegant defence of this much maligned part of speech also made its appearance (http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2016/06/02/abolish_the_ adverb_you_seriously_must_be_ joking.html).
Read and enjoy and make up your own mind.
Sal Imam is writing his memoirs of the late 60s in America.