Interesting! I grew up in New England, in a family that was college educated. The attitude I remember was very different from what you describe. If I had to try to put it in words, I would say that people weren’t cynical about virtue. The churchgoers listened to their sober Protestant sermons, and tried to live as good people. The atheists respected the Christians for caring about the less fortunate. Something like an Aesop fable might be seen as sort of simplistic or aimed at kids, but not actually bad advice, if that makes sense? The rich downplayed their wealth, and often invested some part of it in helping their communities.
But one of the firmest rules was that you never bragged about your virtue. Ever.
And by and large, these people did well in life. They married and generally stayed married. They mostly taught their kids to work hard. The scrimped to pay for their children’s education. They mostly avoided drama, or at least kept it behind closed doors. These are all the actions of people taking the common, obvious advice, including the cliches.
These were people who would have largely understood Chesterton’s remark:
Democracy tells us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our groom; tradition asks us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our father.
Now, were these folks perfect? Of course not. But there was a culture pushing in this direction.
I have encountered other cultures where reflexive cynicism about virtue is the norm. This is often combined with loud public piety. I find it to be a very alien mindset, honestly.
Interesting! I grew up in New England, in a family that was college educated. The attitude I remember was very different from what you describe. If I had to try to put it in words, I would say that people weren’t cynical about virtue. The churchgoers listened to their sober Protestant sermons, and tried to live as good people. The atheists respected the Christians for caring about the less fortunate. Something like an Aesop fable might be seen as sort of simplistic or aimed at kids, but not actually bad advice, if that makes sense? The rich downplayed their wealth, and often invested some part of it in helping their communities.
But one of the firmest rules was that you never bragged about your virtue. Ever.
And by and large, these people did well in life. They married and generally stayed married. They mostly taught their kids to work hard. The scrimped to pay for their children’s education. They mostly avoided drama, or at least kept it behind closed doors. These are all the actions of people taking the common, obvious advice, including the cliches.
These were people who would have largely understood Chesterton’s remark:
Now, were these folks perfect? Of course not. But there was a culture pushing in this direction.
I have encountered other cultures where reflexive cynicism about virtue is the norm. This is often combined with loud public piety. I find it to be a very alien mindset, honestly.