Ghost of Alexis de Tocqueville returns. What America can learn from him
LUZERNE COUNTY, Pennsylvania — Over the Flag Day weekend in Pennsylvania, crowds gathered, and communities were formed in the most unlikely of places, under viaducts, along gravel-filled tracks, and at the base of some impressive Appalachian mountains, all just to watch as Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 rolled through northeastern Pennsylvania.
TL;DR
- The Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive's passage through Pennsylvania drew crowds, serving as a symbol of American ingenuity and the nation's ethos of exceptionalism.
- European soccer fans, like 'Freddy from Germany' and Scottish fan Shaun Hamilton, are sharing positive experiences of American hospitality, community, and everyday life on social media.
- These experiences are reminiscent of Alexis de Tocqueville's 1831 observations in 'Democracy in America,' where he noted Americans' remarkable tendency to organize and unite for shared goals.
- The current era of rapid technological change, including AI and the internet, parallels the societal shifts during Tocqueville's visit, marked by the Industrial Revolution.
- The fans' joyful accounts provide a counterpoint to negative perceptions of the U.S. often found in European media, suggesting that America's people are its defining exceptional quality.