Originally Posted by
base2
I appreciate the nuance.
It does make sense.
For a collective action there must, most certainly be a fair degree of cultural pre-disposition towards that action. Cultural inertia, so to speak.
For the record, I am well aware that each European country has it's own diverse & rich culture. I in no way meant to imply cultural homogeneity in land area comparisons between the United States & the continent of Europe. On the contrary, the team work & collaboration between wide & diverse groups is quite remarkable. I can't help but wonder if that is the real stumbling block when Americans say: "We can't do that here."
The "we're too big & wide for non-automobile mobility" argument American defeatists trot out falls a little flat, IMO. Obviously, it can be done.
I didn't mean it that way, ironically the British overlook the cultural difference most of the time too. They are much more classist for example but don't realize to what degree, the Dutch have liked equality for centuries, except in money of course, but we don't talk about what people make. So that's something that keeps a lot of British in the car, while having an opinion on cyclists. Also political/administrative culture is different, the Netherlands is an engineering project more than a country anyway, that helped. There is consensus culture and a multi party system, but also a rebellious culture played it's part in the 70's. Well before cars became a problem government decided against big box stores at the edges of cities, to keep the inner cities lively with shopping, in hindsight that decision turned out to be huge for cycling. Tthe culture of not for profit associations of volunteers helped at lot, and even drinking culture plays a part.
So when in England a council puts down a cycle lane, the conservatives will brand it an expensive socialist hobby and many drivers will agree. I'm not saying obstacles can't be overcome, but culture counts and shouldn't be overlooked.