Years ago I was startled when a Swiss girl of my acquaintance in NYC told me
that she hoped to move to the US. When I asked why, she said, "In
Switzerland, everyone is in your business - it is quite normal for every one
of your neighbors to feel that it is their right and their duty to come over
to your house and tell you that your yard has too many weeds, your front
stoop and sidewalks need sweeping, you have to put flowers in your
flowerboxes, etc..... in America, I don't think people do that". It seems
that in many crowded lands (the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan) - there is
tremendous social pressure to maintain appearances, and shame is used as a
weapon to keep people in line. However, the US, which was always laissez
faire in the past, partly because of its enormous size and the distance of
one neighbor from another, is rapidly becoming a crowded country too,
especially in certain regions. I think the tremendous energy this thread has
generated is a reflection of a change in attitude. People are recognizing on
a subconcious level that some of the freedoms (e.g. the freedom to be
eccentric) that are possible when people are spread out, start to become
problematic when people are in close proximity. Because we are a legalistic
nation, I imagine that over time zoning regulations will take the place that
shame has in other cultures. But all of that is going to arouse resentment,
because it's a change from the values we were raised with.