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http://Scene-RLS.net
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Perfect. Looking up.
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Great.
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It's coming up towards
crunch time in America,
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as the country heads towards
a presidential election
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and the decision about
whether to re-elect one of its most
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controversial leaders ever,
Donald Trump.
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We will never kneel, we will stand
proud and we will stand tall.
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Black Lives Matter!
Black Lives Matter!
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I went there last summer
because I wanted to try
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and understand some of the divisions
that were opening up there -
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divisions around race, class,
identity and economic opportunity.
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I made three American journeys,
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each to a very different
part of the States,
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and each exploring one of the big
cultural fault lines in the nation.
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I'll be making some art
about what I saw there,
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and because I'm a biker
as well as an artist,
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I travelled on a motorbike
I designed for the trip.
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The battle lines in America
have since become even more bitter,
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with the chaos of the pandemic
and protests against racial justice
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and police violence
erupting onto the streets.
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But what my travels there showed me
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is a country whose divisions have
some unnerving lessons for us all.
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Great, that's beautiful.
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It was high summer in America
when I made this journey.
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I set out in search of
a very particular tribe,
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a group I knew it wouldn't be hard
for me to spot,
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as I'd be the first to admit
that I'm one of them myself.
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In this episode,
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we're going to talk to some people
who are doing pretty well.
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They tend to be on the coast
of America.
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You might describe them
as the liberal elite
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if you were feeling less charitable.
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I've come here to confront
one of America's less talked about
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but most uncomfortable divides -
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the growing gap between
the well educated and successful
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and the rest.
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To start this journey,
I'm going to Martha's Vineyard,
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an island off the coast
of Massachusetts,
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and I think this island
and its people
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are separated by a lot more
than a stretch of ocean.
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Martha's Vineyard
is a summer playground
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for America's wealthy liberals.
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The Clintons vacation here
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and the Obamas own
an $11 million beachfront home.
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It's also the setting
for the 1975 film Jaws,
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Steven Spielberg's classic portrait
of a holiday community
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in deep denial about the danger
lurking just offshore.
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The forgotten men
and women of our country
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will be forgotten no longer.
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You came by the tens of millions to
become part of a historic movement
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the likes of which the world
has never seen before.
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All across America and beyond, anger
at so-called elites is on the rise
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and populist politicians like Donald
Trump have been able to exploit it.
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Whether Trump wins or loses
in November,
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the questions about what led to him
are not going to go away.
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No Art of the Deal, I see.
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To start to understand
the people who come here,
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I went sailing with
custom boat builder Matt.
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That's the first boat we built.
We built it for James Taylor.
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What originally, you know,
drew you here?
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Well, Pam and I sailed here in 1972.
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We were hippies.
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Martha's Vineyard in those days
was a place where writers
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and artists and professors
and musicians would come
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and have very inexpensive camps,
a lot of them with no plumbing.
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Do you want to steer? Yeah.
What am I steering towards?
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Uh... America!
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Well, yeah, we are a little bit out
from America here, aren't we? Yeah.
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But now, you know,
Martha's Vineyard, it's a place
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where the rich and the powerful
hang out now. They do.
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But they haven't kicked us out yet.
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How much is one of these nice houses
along the front here?
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They are all over a million,
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and then the big ones,
they can be up to 10 million,
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and they're even higher
on the other side, the west side.
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The breeze picked up for us,
we're scooting along.
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Yeah, absolutely. You've got a nice
touch at the helm, by the way.
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I think people are coming here
to escape that other America,
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over the other side of the water,
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Trump's America -
the brash one of strip malls
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and plastic fast food joints
and its sort of flashy wealth.
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Over here, you leave your
yellow Porsche in the car park
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on the other side of the ferry
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and you drive about in
a battered old truck,
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pretending that you're
down-home here in this
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kind of handcrafted loveliness
that is Martha's Vineyard.
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For a place that screams its sort of
bohemian, creative credentials,
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I've never been to a place where
all the men dress the same!
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They're all wearing faded coral
Ralph Lauren shorts.
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It all feels a little bit
twinkly-twee,
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like the spiritual home
of a knitting blogger.
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I got invited to a dinner for 17
at the home of
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legendary local hostess
and socialite Rose Styron,
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widow of the famous novelist
William.
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It's a very, very good people place.
Yeah.
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My fellow guests are all
impressively credentialed figures
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from the worlds of business,
the media, academia and the law.
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Fantastic, because there's
so many terrific people here.
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They talk about...
They talk about elite, the elite.
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Do you ever see the elite?
They're not elite.
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You're the elite. You are the elite.
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There's been a lot of talk
about the 1%,
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the mega-rich whose share
of national wealth has ballooned.
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But the 20% just below the 1% -
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the professional, well-educated,
upper middle-class -
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are also floating away from
the rest economically.
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This group might loathe Trump
and everything he stands for,
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but when I asked them whether
their success could have played
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any part in his rise,
things took an awkward turn.
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I wanted to ask you openly, anybody,
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why are you in Martha's Vineyard?
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Don't you think, though,
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the most important thing
is that it's an island?
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Yes, I think you're bang on.
So, we all see ourselves as special,
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and so this is an elite island,
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where people have
separated themselves
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from the continental United States
by 45 minutes of water,
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and it's a new life
and none of those people are here.
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Well, like you said,
we're on an island here, you know.
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It's like, "Oh, we're lovely!
it's all lovely, isn't it?
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"Look at those lovely tasteful
houses and everybody's neat
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"and everybody's smiling as they
ride their bicycles along..."
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Where are you getting that from?
Well, today...
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Who's telling you that?
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Well, I've been...
Where's that coming from?
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How long have you been here
to have that impression?
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Because that's ridiculous,
I'm sorry.
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I love you, man, and we're going to
be friends forever,
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but you have not been here
long enough
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to make the statement you just made.
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I just did a panel, which I do every
year, at the Old Whaling Church,
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and we had people from
the left, from the right,
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from the middle and from the crazy.
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00:09:04,985 --> 00:09:09,385
To say that this is
a one-dimensional place
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where everybody thinks the same
is bullshit.
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OK. So I'm here in Martha's Vineyard
because it is a flag that says,
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"We are so liberal, we are power,
we are money, we are East Coast,
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"we are kind of lovely, sort of
faded, olden days-y loveliness."
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And it feels to me, as an outsider,
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as a kind of theme park of
sort of liberal tastefulness.
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Well, for one thing,
Martha's Vineyard is not a place
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in which we wave a flag of
money and power.
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People think a lot alike,
but we do have a lot of discussion.
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What do you think it is, then,
that you need to do?
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Because obviously,
that message is not getting through.
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Once we do get rid of...
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..vote Trump out
and a new leader will emerge,
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perhaps that person
will be able to explain
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what we have in it together.
Well, I think it's...
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The question that begs me is,
you know,
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with the present situation here in
America, how much are you to blame?
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Mm. You know, what is it
that you've done, or not done...?
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The 15 of us?
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Or... Yeah...
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What is this programme about?
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I wanted to have
an intelligent conversation
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about why Trump happened.
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Well, I didn't talk about that,
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and so many of us...
But you might have illustrated it.
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I'm here in Martha's Vineyard
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because I'm interested in what
Martha's Vineyard represents.
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In terms of what?
In American culture.
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In terms of what?
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I mean, in terms of what?
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Martha's Vineyard is not a place
in which the people around
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this table feel particularly
class... classified.
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And in fact, on this island,
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I think that that characteristic
is particularly
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either diminished or absent.
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So, if that's what you think we are,
you're wrong.
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What is it about these people,
who are incredibly self-aware,
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incredibly perceptive about society?
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Why has the kind of liberal,
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well-educated, er,
coastal elites of America
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been outmanoeuvred by Trump
and his campaign?
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You know, why did that happen?
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What were they not seeing?
What was their blind spot?
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And I think that, in many ways,
they don't like...
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They were uncomfortable with
the idea that they were
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a caricature of themselves.
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You know, they didn't want
to be put in a box.
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They like to think
they're incredibly individual.
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00:12:01,585 --> 00:12:04,425
And, of course, we are all...
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00:12:04,425 --> 00:12:08,825
We all, all of us,
have a collective identity,
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and the uncomfortable thing
that we often have to confront
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is that we are unaware of that,
because it's working for us.
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We are part of a super-smooth,
well-educated liberal elite
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that is being glided to
the top of the pile,
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and it's not being challenged
because it works in this society.
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And then for me, perhaps, to
point out that you might be a group
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and you're doing very well on it,
thank you,
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00:12:35,305 --> 00:12:41,745
and maybe you might want to start
kind of questioning your privilege,
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that's uncomfortable, particularly
with people who think they are
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on the side of justice, they are
on the right side of history.
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It's very uncomfortable for them.
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I'm travelling to the spiritual
capital of liberal America,
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New York City.
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I've been trying to understand the
consequences of the growing distance
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between the nation's metropolitan
upper middle classes and the rest.
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00:13:23,825 --> 00:13:27,505
This morning, the death toll
in New York State is nearing 1,000.
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Hospitals are reeling,
with New York City's mayor warning
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they will run out of supplies
by this weekend.
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00:13:33,505 --> 00:13:36,465
I had no idea of the tragedy
that would unfold here
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and the impact it would have on
the presidential election to come.
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00:13:41,185 --> 00:13:45,225
But what I did find was a bubble -
a city whose stark divisions
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between the relatively wealthy and
successful and the poor
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00:13:48,625 --> 00:13:51,825
have been thrown into sharper focus
by the disaster
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that's happened since.
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00:13:57,905 --> 00:14:00,825
Here I am in lovely,
liberal Brooklyn.
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This is my kind of place.
It reminds me of where I live.
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They remind me of my friends.
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00:14:06,465 --> 00:14:09,225
And I think that one thing
that's happened
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00:14:09,225 --> 00:14:14,065
since Donald Trump is that suddenly,
"the liberal elite",
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00:14:14,065 --> 00:14:16,945
of which I am, you know,
I'm quite happily to admit
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00:14:16,945 --> 00:14:20,505
I am a member of, suddenly,
"Oh, God, we're LABELLED now!
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00:14:20,505 --> 00:14:21,825
"Ooh, you mean that's us?"
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00:14:22,985 --> 00:14:26,225
Part of the anxiety now
is that suddenly, us,
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00:14:26,225 --> 00:14:28,665
the good burghers
of the liberal elite,
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00:14:28,665 --> 00:14:31,225
have been made to feel a bit
self-conscious, and maybe
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00:14:31,225 --> 00:14:36,065
we're privileged, and what can we do
to somehow make it less anxious?
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It's tricky.
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00:14:37,705 --> 00:14:39,305
Cos it's nice, it's comfy.
224
00:14:43,465 --> 00:14:46,705
During my time here,
I'll be staying in Park Slope,
225
00:14:46,705 --> 00:14:49,745
a tone-y, brownstone-y
neighbourhood in Brooklyn
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00:14:49,745 --> 00:14:52,385
with some of the best elementary
schools in the city.
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00:14:52,385 --> 00:14:55,985
And you can tell how distinct
the tribe who live here are
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00:14:55,985 --> 00:15:00,305
by something really basic -
the way they shop for groceries.
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00:15:05,265 --> 00:15:07,585
At the Park Slope Food Co-op,
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00:15:07,585 --> 00:15:11,265
you can't just walk in the door
and buy the locally sourced produce,
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00:15:11,265 --> 00:15:14,385
you have to sign up to work an
unpaid two-and-three-quarter-hour
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00:15:14,385 --> 00:15:18,345
shift every four weeks in order
to become a member.
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00:15:18,345 --> 00:15:22,705
Joe co-founded the co-op in 1973.
234
00:15:22,705 --> 00:15:24,705
So this is the way
a member comes in.
235
00:15:24,705 --> 00:15:26,505
I'm active,
that means I can go shopping...
236
00:15:26,505 --> 00:15:29,145
That wasn't you on that photo there.
That's a much younger guy!
237
00:15:29,145 --> 00:15:31,065
I don't know,
it looks a lot like me.
238
00:15:32,705 --> 00:15:35,625
Well, I am a little older.
I can't help it.
239
00:15:35,625 --> 00:15:37,065
It just keeps happening.
240
00:15:38,425 --> 00:15:42,825
Everybody who's shopping here,
all these people own the place.
241
00:15:42,825 --> 00:15:44,785
Everybody you see here
is a member-owner.
242
00:15:44,785 --> 00:15:47,345
So this group of people works
together every 28 days,
243
00:15:47,345 --> 00:15:49,025
again and again. The same people?
244
00:15:49,025 --> 00:15:51,625
The same people, so they get to know
each other, hopefully,
245
00:15:51,625 --> 00:15:54,145
and like each other and learn how
to work as a group together.
246
00:15:54,145 --> 00:15:56,905
We have hundreds of these groups
throughout the 28 days...
247
00:15:56,905 --> 00:16:03,585
So, how many members? 17,000. Wow!
17,000! Yeah, yeah. I'm impressed.
248
00:16:03,585 --> 00:16:05,425
"It's too many," she says.
249
00:16:13,625 --> 00:16:17,025
New York is one of the most
unequal cities in America,
250
00:16:17,025 --> 00:16:21,425
and more than a million New Yorkers
experience food insecurity.
251
00:16:21,425 --> 00:16:23,785
But here was an oasis
where Brooklynites play
252
00:16:23,785 --> 00:16:26,305
once a month at
performative equality.
253
00:16:27,865 --> 00:16:30,585
I dropped in on the cheese cutters.
254
00:16:32,025 --> 00:16:37,465
I saw Betrayal with Tom Hiddleston.
It's a Pinter play.
255
00:16:37,465 --> 00:16:40,105
The Times gave it a very
good review.
256
00:16:40,105 --> 00:16:42,545
So what's your day job?
I'm an English professor.
257
00:16:42,545 --> 00:16:46,625
Well, now I'm retired,
and I'm an ex fabric designer.
258
00:16:46,625 --> 00:16:49,705
I'm a linguistics professor.
Jordan's an architect.
259
00:16:49,705 --> 00:16:52,785
We come with our architectural
questions every month, right?
260
00:16:52,785 --> 00:16:54,705
I do some of my best socialising
at the co-op.
261
00:16:54,705 --> 00:16:56,625
I run into people I know every time
I'm here.
262
00:16:56,625 --> 00:16:58,465
All of my friends are members.
263
00:16:58,465 --> 00:17:01,745
Is it like a kind of, er,
Masonic cult?
264
00:17:01,745 --> 00:17:03,345
I'm sure it's been called worse.
265
00:17:05,105 --> 00:17:08,865
Um... No, it's more of a social
club, in addition to a supermarket.
266
00:17:08,865 --> 00:17:12,025
Is it a kind of hub of
shared values?
267
00:17:12,025 --> 00:17:13,985
Well, yeah. I think so, I think so.
268
00:17:13,985 --> 00:17:15,585
I think people...
269
00:17:15,585 --> 00:17:18,145
I mean, this neighbourhood
in general, you know,
270
00:17:18,145 --> 00:17:20,785
the city in general
has broadly shared values.
271
00:17:23,065 --> 00:17:27,465
Right in the heart of this global
metropolis, Park Slopers have built
272
00:17:27,465 --> 00:17:32,265
themselves a little village, and
a culturally exclusive one at that.
273
00:17:32,265 --> 00:17:34,865
What I'm finding on this particular
274
00:17:34,865 --> 00:17:39,665
journey around the East Coast here
is that the sorts of villages
275
00:17:39,665 --> 00:17:44,265
that people are finding,
maybe like in Martha's Vineyard,
276
00:17:44,265 --> 00:17:47,385
and maybe here,
and maybe in Brooklyn,
277
00:17:47,385 --> 00:17:48,985
is that we're finding villages,
278
00:17:48,985 --> 00:17:52,545
they're not like the villages out
in, you know,
279
00:17:52,545 --> 00:17:54,865
where people are random.
280
00:17:54,865 --> 00:17:59,345
These are villages where perhaps
everybody has a good education,
281
00:17:59,345 --> 00:18:02,985
everybody has a sort of similar
political persuasion,
282
00:18:02,985 --> 00:18:08,145
everybody has sort of signed up
for a certain sensibility.
283
00:18:15,305 --> 00:18:19,825
Social mobility has been
stalling in America.
284
00:18:19,825 --> 00:18:22,985
But is it just the sky-high property
prices that are barriers
285
00:18:22,985 --> 00:18:24,905
to entry to places like this,
286
00:18:24,905 --> 00:18:28,945
or is it the unwritten cultural
codes that apply here?
287
00:18:28,945 --> 00:18:30,265
In Prospect Park,
288
00:18:30,265 --> 00:18:36,385
I met some members of local
community group Park Slope Parents.
289
00:18:36,385 --> 00:18:39,865
Here you are in Brooklyn -
lovely Brooklyn -
290
00:18:39,865 --> 00:18:44,305
and, you know, this, and this,
and the Park Slope Food Co-op
291
00:18:44,305 --> 00:18:48,025
and whatever, you know, they are
kind of villages, aren't they? Yes.
292
00:18:48,025 --> 00:18:50,505
It's funny, because people always
say to us,
293
00:18:50,505 --> 00:18:52,385
"Why do you still live here?
294
00:18:52,385 --> 00:18:54,785
"You could get all these
things back home."
295
00:18:54,785 --> 00:18:56,385
What's your reply?
296
00:18:56,385 --> 00:19:00,785
Well, I wouldn't get these people
back home. Yeah?
297
00:19:00,785 --> 00:19:04,385
And I wouldn't get
a chosen lifestyle.
298
00:19:04,385 --> 00:19:07,745
But I think, like, back home,
it feels like you kind of have
299
00:19:07,745 --> 00:19:12,825
to sit into whatever exists, and I
don't feel the same way living here.
300
00:19:12,825 --> 00:19:15,985
I'm looking for people
who excite me.
301
00:19:15,985 --> 00:19:19,665
That's not necessarily, for me,
people like me.
302
00:19:19,665 --> 00:19:22,465
That diversity of thought
is a thing that I don't get
303
00:19:22,465 --> 00:19:25,025
when I go home, right?
304
00:19:25,025 --> 00:19:29,425
It's the thing, like you said,
that you go back to
305
00:19:29,425 --> 00:19:32,465
and you're reminded of who you were
and who you are today.
306
00:19:32,465 --> 00:19:34,825
Do you really get diversity
of thought here, though?
307
00:19:34,825 --> 00:19:37,265
That's the question
that's on the tip of my tongue.
308
00:19:37,265 --> 00:19:40,905
Like, we all live here
because of our desire for diversity
309
00:19:40,905 --> 00:19:42,865
and for different points of view,
310
00:19:42,865 --> 00:19:44,785
but the truth of the matter is,
311
00:19:44,785 --> 00:19:49,745
we continue to self-select
into these, you know,
312
00:19:49,745 --> 00:19:54,145
conversations and ideas and values
that are never challenged,
313
00:19:54,145 --> 00:19:57,665
and when we're talking about this,
where we want just enough diversity
314
00:19:57,665 --> 00:20:00,945
around us to get those
incredible soup dumplings or,
315
00:20:00,945 --> 00:20:03,985
you know, that incredible
takeout from the Indian joint
316
00:20:03,985 --> 00:20:05,585
or, you know, whatever it is...
317
00:20:05,585 --> 00:20:08,145
A kind of rom-com diversity,
I suppose.
318
00:20:08,145 --> 00:20:11,225
Yeah, in a very sort of
quaint, contained way.
319
00:20:11,225 --> 00:20:17,705
But when you have people who are
really struggling and, you know,
320
00:20:17,705 --> 00:20:21,625
there is a project being built
near your neighbourhood or something
321
00:20:21,625 --> 00:20:26,105
like that, and even a homeless
shelter coming into Park Slope,
322
00:20:26,105 --> 00:20:30,905
like, all of a sudden,
the idea of others coming too close,
323
00:20:30,905 --> 00:20:35,225
you'll start to see,
is a little too uncomfortable.
324
00:20:36,785 --> 00:20:40,385
In the 1950s and '60s,
if you were middle-class in America,
325
00:20:40,385 --> 00:20:43,065
you tended to watch
the same television shows,
326
00:20:43,065 --> 00:20:46,985
drive the same cars,
drink the same brands of beer.
327
00:20:46,985 --> 00:20:50,065
And with that came a degree
of shared understanding
328
00:20:50,065 --> 00:20:52,025
of what it was like to live
in America.
329
00:20:54,425 --> 00:20:57,945
But as the most successful 20%
of Americans self-segregate
330
00:20:57,945 --> 00:21:01,345
into culturally distinct
and opportunity-rich neighbourhoods
331
00:21:01,345 --> 00:21:05,665
like Brooklyn, it has grown easier
to stoke resentment against them.
332
00:21:11,505 --> 00:21:16,545
I'm talking
about the cultured, cosmopolitan,
333
00:21:16,545 --> 00:21:22,945
goat's milk latte drinking, avocado
toast eating insiders' elite.
334
00:21:22,945 --> 00:21:25,825
I believe that everybody counts.
335
00:21:25,825 --> 00:21:29,665
And so does the President
of the United States of America.
336
00:21:36,305 --> 00:21:40,185
Just across the Brooklyn Bridge
in Lower Manhattan, I met Eve,
337
00:21:40,185 --> 00:21:44,665
a colour consultant to the anxious
homeowners of New York.
338
00:21:44,665 --> 00:21:48,465
I help people pick
paint colours for their houses,
339
00:21:48,465 --> 00:21:51,025
because people are getting
more, I guess, concerned
340
00:21:51,025 --> 00:21:53,545
about how to find the right colour.
341
00:21:53,545 --> 00:21:57,905
That word screams at me - concerned.
Yeah, the panic,
342
00:21:57,905 --> 00:21:59,585
the colour panic sets in!
343
00:22:01,545 --> 00:22:04,625
I think it's just like an uptick
in anxiety, and then, you know,
344
00:22:04,625 --> 00:22:07,625
when there are 100 whites...
345
00:22:07,625 --> 00:22:08,945
100 whites!
346
00:22:08,945 --> 00:22:11,625
You know, that, like,
keeps people twirling in circles,
347
00:22:11,625 --> 00:22:14,625
wondering, like, if they're picking
the right one.
348
00:22:14,625 --> 00:22:17,905
My metaphor klaxon is going off when
you said 100 whites!
349
00:22:17,905 --> 00:22:19,305
I like that!
350
00:22:19,305 --> 00:22:22,705
How do you think that people's
sort of choices have become
351
00:22:22,705 --> 00:22:24,665
so agonised nowadays?
352
00:22:24,665 --> 00:22:27,265
What other sort of things
are pressing down on them,
353
00:22:27,265 --> 00:22:29,905
apart from their own personal taste?
354
00:22:29,905 --> 00:22:32,705
I see a lot of my clients are really
influenced by trends,
355
00:22:32,705 --> 00:22:35,905
I mean, right now we are coming out
of what I consider the Grey Age.
356
00:22:37,425 --> 00:22:41,105
Everything has been grey,
like, grey, grey, grey.
357
00:22:41,105 --> 00:22:43,385
Grey walls, grey furniture,
grey everything.
358
00:22:44,865 --> 00:22:48,185
In London, you can tell the force
of gentrification, the tide...
359
00:22:48,185 --> 00:22:50,545
By the grey?
The grey window frames. Absolutely.
360
00:22:50,545 --> 00:22:52,825
Absolutely, you can tell -
"Oh, they're coming."
361
00:22:56,385 --> 00:23:00,865
One of Eve's clients, Bill,
had been stressing about his sisal.
362
00:23:01,985 --> 00:23:05,705
So this sisal is going everywhere,
every single surface, wall-to-wall.
363
00:23:05,705 --> 00:23:07,505
And it also goes into the bedroom,
right?
364
00:23:07,505 --> 00:23:09,305
The bedroom, the entrance,
the kitchen...
365
00:23:09,305 --> 00:23:11,625
Not the bathroom,
but absolutely everywhere.
366
00:23:11,625 --> 00:23:12,865
It's just going to be all black.
367
00:23:12,865 --> 00:23:14,585
Wow, so it's going in the kitchen
too, all right.
368
00:23:14,585 --> 00:23:17,345
All black, wall-to-wall. What are
you seeing here in terms of...
369
00:23:17,345 --> 00:23:21,185
Like, is this still the bright...
This is the pink. Yeah, violet pink.
370
00:23:25,225 --> 00:23:27,145
Going back to the grey
window frames,
371
00:23:27,145 --> 00:23:29,745
we knew with the grey window frames
that a certain sort of person
372
00:23:29,745 --> 00:23:31,305
was moving in,
and they were markers,
373
00:23:31,305 --> 00:23:34,385
they were boundary markers as clear
and defined as Donald Trump's wall.
374
00:23:34,385 --> 00:23:38,425
And what kind of taste decisions
do you think your clientele
375
00:23:38,425 --> 00:23:43,665
are making to kind of insulate
themselves from the rest of America?
376
00:23:43,665 --> 00:23:47,265
Yeah, I think in terms of
separating out,
377
00:23:47,265 --> 00:23:51,065
a lot of it is about saying,
you know,
378
00:23:51,065 --> 00:23:56,305
here is the evidence
that I have more taste than you,
379
00:23:56,305 --> 00:23:59,625
more money than you,
I don't vote like you, you know.
380
00:23:59,625 --> 00:24:02,425
And do you think the social forces
that are happening
381
00:24:02,425 --> 00:24:08,185
at the moment are making perhaps
the top 20% of the income group say,
382
00:24:08,185 --> 00:24:10,505
"Yeah, I'm doing OK,"
383
00:24:10,505 --> 00:24:14,905
when suddenly, Trump is calling you
out and he's calling you the elite?
384
00:24:14,905 --> 00:24:20,545
I can't stand that word. I find that
such an annoying and offensive word.
385
00:24:20,545 --> 00:24:23,545
Are you triggered by the word elite?
Yeah, I am!
386
00:24:25,465 --> 00:24:26,785
But it's such a...
387
00:24:26,785 --> 00:24:28,465
Wait a minute, you're not an elite?
388
00:24:28,465 --> 00:24:30,945
Get out!
I didn't know I was an elite.
389
00:24:30,945 --> 00:24:33,745
Can you just remind everybody
how much we're spending here?
390
00:24:33,745 --> 00:24:36,065
Oh, yeah, you're elite.
391
00:24:36,065 --> 00:24:38,945
I just don't like the word,
it's such an ugly word.
392
00:24:38,945 --> 00:24:42,345
But also, what bothers me about it
so much also is that it's
393
00:24:42,345 --> 00:24:45,425
attributed to people who have
an education, and isn't that what
394
00:24:45,425 --> 00:24:48,745
America is supposed to be -
one of our basic, you know...
395
00:24:48,745 --> 00:24:53,465
Yeah, it's confusing that way.
..flag-waving ideas is education?
396
00:24:53,465 --> 00:24:57,025
But it's always used as... It's used
as a hammer against educated people.
397
00:24:57,025 --> 00:24:58,785
To call them elites.
398
00:25:02,105 --> 00:25:05,065
Who would have thought
that what shade of white
399
00:25:05,065 --> 00:25:09,465
you are painting your lounge
could possibly be a signal that you
400
00:25:09,465 --> 00:25:13,865
were travelling in a different
direction from the rest of society?
401
00:25:13,865 --> 00:25:16,905
I mean, and it's the fact that they
are so considered, and they care,
402
00:25:16,905 --> 00:25:20,585
and it's exquisite, and educated,
403
00:25:20,585 --> 00:25:24,105
that people are
signalling to themselves
404
00:25:24,105 --> 00:25:25,745
and to their friends
405
00:25:25,745 --> 00:25:29,185
and to the wider community
that they are a different tribe,
406
00:25:29,185 --> 00:25:33,585
and I think there's a kind of
retreat, and it's interesting
407
00:25:33,585 --> 00:25:37,985
they're kind of nesting in their
Farrow & Ball loveliness.
408
00:25:37,985 --> 00:25:41,745
They are putting up a sort of
beautifully weathered stockade
409
00:25:41,745 --> 00:25:44,225
against the rest of Trump's America.
410
00:25:58,945 --> 00:26:02,025
Hunkering down with like-minded
liberals might just seem
411
00:26:02,025 --> 00:26:04,705
harmless enough, but increasingly,
412
00:26:04,705 --> 00:26:07,985
what it all boils down to
is access to education.
413
00:26:09,065 --> 00:26:10,425
Now more than ever,
414
00:26:10,425 --> 00:26:13,265
you need a graduate education
to succeed in America.
415
00:26:13,265 --> 00:26:16,785
A gulf is opening up
between those who have got one
416
00:26:16,785 --> 00:26:18,425
and those who haven't.
417
00:26:18,425 --> 00:26:21,825
A division which President Trump
has been able to exploit.
418
00:26:23,625 --> 00:26:25,945
We won with
poorly educated -
419
00:26:25,945 --> 00:26:27,225
I love the poorly educated.
420
00:26:29,065 --> 00:26:31,945
We're the smartest people,
we're the most loyal people...
421
00:26:39,945 --> 00:26:42,905
I've travelled up through
New England to Amherst,
422
00:26:42,905 --> 00:26:47,305
a pleasant, white picket fence
college town in Massachusetts.
423
00:26:47,305 --> 00:26:50,505
I'm trying to understand the gap
between America's super educated
424
00:26:50,505 --> 00:26:53,185
top 20% and the rest -
425
00:26:53,185 --> 00:26:57,745
the San Andreas fault
of the American culture wars.
426
00:26:57,745 --> 00:27:02,145
70% of the students in America's
200 most selective colleges
427
00:27:02,145 --> 00:27:05,945
now come from the top 25%
of the income distribution.
428
00:27:09,465 --> 00:27:11,825
The culture is
shaped in the universities,
429
00:27:11,825 --> 00:27:13,625
and if they're being brainwashed
and they've been,
430
00:27:13,625 --> 00:27:16,545
essentially since the progressive
era of the 1920s in this country.
431
00:27:16,545 --> 00:27:18,825
And it seems like it's getting
worse and worse.
432
00:27:21,185 --> 00:27:25,985
UMass Amherst ranks in the top 25
public universities in the country.
433
00:27:34,785 --> 00:27:36,625
What a welcome!
434
00:27:41,505 --> 00:27:43,825
Hello, I'm Grayson.
Nice to meet you. I'm Breanna.
435
00:27:43,825 --> 00:27:45,145
Hello, Breanna.
436
00:27:45,145 --> 00:27:47,425
This is the sorority house. Yes.
437
00:27:47,425 --> 00:27:49,185
What is a sorority house?
438
00:27:49,185 --> 00:27:51,545
It's a sisterhood. It's a bunch of
girls who come together
439
00:27:51,545 --> 00:27:54,545
who have similar values,
and it's a great support system.
440
00:27:54,545 --> 00:27:57,425
Fraternity is the male version
of a sorority.
441
00:27:57,425 --> 00:27:59,185
OK, well, show me around, then.
442
00:27:59,185 --> 00:28:00,905
Wow. This is a first for me.
443
00:28:02,305 --> 00:28:04,225
It's rush week here at UMass,
444
00:28:04,225 --> 00:28:06,785
the time of the year when the
college's sororities
445
00:28:06,785 --> 00:28:10,265
and fraternities, throw a series
of open-house day events
446
00:28:10,265 --> 00:28:13,545
in order to select
their new members.
447
00:28:13,545 --> 00:28:15,585
Because we've so many girls
come through our house,
448
00:28:15,585 --> 00:28:17,425
we go through and say, "OK,
do we like this girl?
449
00:28:17,425 --> 00:28:19,305
"Do we not like this girl?"
And like why.
450
00:28:19,305 --> 00:28:20,865
And then,
based on the girls we like,
451
00:28:20,865 --> 00:28:22,265
I put them into our system first.
452
00:28:22,265 --> 00:28:24,665
The girls that we don't like
so much go like in the middle
453
00:28:24,665 --> 00:28:26,665
of our system, and the girls who
we don't like at all
454
00:28:26,665 --> 00:28:29,385
go at the bottom, and usually the
girls at the bottom don't come back.
455
00:28:29,385 --> 00:28:31,265
So, the girls at the bottom
could still rank us,
456
00:28:31,265 --> 00:28:32,705
but they still may not
come back here.
457
00:28:32,705 --> 00:28:34,465
Oh, I see, cos...
And that's when girls cry.
458
00:28:36,385 --> 00:28:38,185
What are these
things on the wall here?
459
00:28:38,185 --> 00:28:40,745
So, these are all of our
class paddles.
460
00:28:40,745 --> 00:28:43,225
So, after we get a new member class,
461
00:28:43,225 --> 00:28:46,945
each of them make a paddle
with all their names on it,
462
00:28:46,945 --> 00:28:49,865
just as a memory,
and we keep all of them.
463
00:28:49,865 --> 00:28:52,705
Wow. I like these objects.
They're really interesting.
464
00:28:52,705 --> 00:28:54,065
I like the fact they're different,
465
00:28:54,065 --> 00:28:56,585
and they'll tell a sort of history
of kind of popular culture.
466
00:28:56,585 --> 00:28:59,705
Exactly, and they all represent
that class that's going through.
467
00:28:59,705 --> 00:29:01,305
I think they're great, yeah.
468
00:29:01,305 --> 00:29:03,625
Do you want to see a room?
Yeah, let's see a room.
469
00:29:03,625 --> 00:29:04,705
It's OK, it's me.
470
00:29:06,985 --> 00:29:08,425
It's nice, isn't it?
471
00:29:08,425 --> 00:29:10,385
It's an interesting...
It's like a family.
472
00:29:10,385 --> 00:29:11,505
Yeah.
473
00:29:11,505 --> 00:29:13,345
It's nice, because they take you
under your wing
474
00:29:13,345 --> 00:29:14,545
when you're a new sister,
475
00:29:14,545 --> 00:29:16,945
and like, they look out for you
and they mentor you.
476
00:29:16,945 --> 00:29:20,145
What's the afterlife of a sorority?
477
00:29:20,145 --> 00:29:23,945
In Britain, we have this idea
that these are kind of networking...
478
00:29:23,945 --> 00:29:26,545
Yeah, we know our alumni,
so they come back and they help us
479
00:29:26,545 --> 00:29:29,585
network and stuff, so like, they'll
come back and hire sisters for jobs,
480
00:29:29,585 --> 00:29:32,305
and like, they get really involved
and really care about the house.
481
00:29:32,305 --> 00:29:34,665
And, like, they want to see us
be successful also.
482
00:29:34,665 --> 00:29:37,545
Potentially, it's a
pretty important decision
483
00:29:37,545 --> 00:29:40,465
that's happening in this week, you
know, for the... Yeah.
484
00:29:40,465 --> 00:29:42,505
..for the lives of the people
involved.
485
00:29:42,505 --> 00:29:44,865
Yeah, because we're not here just
to, like, mess around.
486
00:29:44,865 --> 00:29:46,425
You know, like, we're here
for a reason.
487
00:29:48,305 --> 00:29:52,185
This is a ritualization
of the kind of pathway
488
00:29:52,185 --> 00:29:53,825
to the American dream, you know?
489
00:29:53,825 --> 00:29:57,225
These people, at a very early
stage in their lives,
490
00:29:57,225 --> 00:29:58,705
are looking for inroads,
491
00:29:58,705 --> 00:30:02,425
they're looking for ways that they
can make connections,
492
00:30:02,425 --> 00:30:06,865
that they can establish networks
that'll get them jobs,
493
00:30:06,865 --> 00:30:10,305
friends, persuasion, opportunities.
494
00:30:13,825 --> 00:30:16,825
It was time for the traditional
Bid Day party,
495
00:30:16,825 --> 00:30:19,825
when the sororities
welcome their new members.
496
00:30:19,825 --> 00:30:23,145
Iota Gamma Epsilon have chosen
a hippie theme.
497
00:30:39,785 --> 00:30:42,625
These nice young people
aren't the Kennedys,
498
00:30:42,625 --> 00:30:44,265
but they are the next generation
499
00:30:44,265 --> 00:30:47,705
of the American educated elite
in embryo.
500
00:30:47,705 --> 00:30:50,745
Just by getting accepted into one
of the nation's prestigious
501
00:30:50,745 --> 00:30:55,865
institutions, they're on their way
to membership of the top 20%,
502
00:30:55,865 --> 00:30:59,305
and to all the bounty
of the American dream that holds.
503
00:31:07,705 --> 00:31:12,425
It just so happens that a process
that starts as innocently as
504
00:31:12,425 --> 00:31:15,105
a pizza party with a hippie theme
505
00:31:15,105 --> 00:31:20,025
ends up as a kind of corralling
of the capitalist resources
506
00:31:20,025 --> 00:31:22,345
of a major world economy.
507
00:31:27,585 --> 00:31:31,105
College-educated Americans might
actually have been hippies once,
508
00:31:31,105 --> 00:31:33,985
but since then,
they've figured out a way to make
509
00:31:33,985 --> 00:31:38,305
success in a meritocracy something
your kids can inherit from you.
510
00:31:45,465 --> 00:31:49,185
I want to understand how these
advantages appear to people
511
00:31:49,185 --> 00:31:51,065
who are starting out with
none of them.
512
00:31:56,185 --> 00:31:59,345
So, I'm travelling to another
village - Flushing,
513
00:31:59,345 --> 00:32:01,585
in the New York borough of Queens.
514
00:32:10,825 --> 00:32:13,145
The American dream -
what's the classic story?
515
00:32:13,145 --> 00:32:14,385
People come to this country,
516
00:32:14,385 --> 00:32:16,865
they work damn hard
to achieve their goals.
517
00:32:16,865 --> 00:32:20,665
So, I've come here to
Flushing, Queens, New York,
518
00:32:20,665 --> 00:32:24,305
to meet some people
in the Chinese American community.
519
00:32:24,305 --> 00:32:28,705
And they've got a very clear-eyed
view of what they need to achieve
520
00:32:28,705 --> 00:32:30,985
to get their seat at the top table.
521
00:32:36,305 --> 00:32:38,665
For most poorer families
in New York,
522
00:32:38,665 --> 00:32:42,745
which high school your kids get to
go to is a postcode lottery.
523
00:32:42,745 --> 00:32:46,145
But there is one striking
exception to the rule.
524
00:32:46,145 --> 00:32:49,065
Eight of the best-performing schools
admit their students
525
00:32:49,065 --> 00:32:53,425
on the basis of a single exam -
the SHSAT,
526
00:32:53,425 --> 00:32:55,665
open to every child in the city.
527
00:32:57,345 --> 00:33:00,945
It's a rare route to the top
which Asian American communities
528
00:33:00,945 --> 00:33:03,505
in particular are willing to
bet the farm on.
529
00:33:16,625 --> 00:33:20,385
12-year-old Eugene's family
came to the US from China
530
00:33:20,385 --> 00:33:21,905
when he was a baby.
531
00:33:21,905 --> 00:33:23,585
We had breakfast together.
532
00:33:23,585 --> 00:33:25,945
And what am I eating?
Its rice and...?
533
00:33:25,945 --> 00:33:30,905
It's congee with
preserved duck egg and pork.
534
00:33:30,905 --> 00:33:33,705
Oh, wow. OK, this is a first for me.
535
00:33:35,305 --> 00:33:37,905
Eugene's set his heart on
the hardest to get into
536
00:33:37,905 --> 00:33:40,825
of the eight schools covered by
the test - Stuyvesant.
537
00:33:42,145 --> 00:33:44,505
Where would you like to go
after Stuyvesant?
538
00:33:44,505 --> 00:33:47,385
After Stuyvesant, I would like to go
to Princeton.
539
00:33:47,385 --> 00:33:48,465
Right.
540
00:33:48,465 --> 00:33:51,145
To pursue a degree in medicine.
541
00:33:52,665 --> 00:33:55,905
So, the chances of getting
into Stuyvesant are what?
542
00:33:55,905 --> 00:33:57,585
What do you think are the odds?
543
00:34:00,065 --> 00:34:01,305
I'd say 1%.
544
00:34:01,305 --> 00:34:02,345
1%?
545
00:34:03,425 --> 00:34:05,425
So, that's pretty stiff odds.
546
00:34:05,425 --> 00:34:08,065
Yeah. I'm basically like
nonstop working.
547
00:34:08,065 --> 00:34:10,425
I've given up most of
my free time.
548
00:34:10,425 --> 00:34:12,825
So, all this work you're
doing for this test, you know,
549
00:34:12,825 --> 00:34:15,185
so you can get into this really,
really good school,
550
00:34:15,185 --> 00:34:17,585
is that sort of fair that
you're doing that,
551
00:34:17,585 --> 00:34:20,345
or would it be fairer if you just
went to the local school
552
00:34:20,345 --> 00:34:21,825
where everybody else went?
553
00:34:21,825 --> 00:34:25,065
It's not fair that if you're just
going to go to the local school,
554
00:34:25,065 --> 00:34:28,345
because in New York, there's
something called the Zone Program,
555
00:34:28,345 --> 00:34:31,105
where, depending on where you live,
you go to school.
556
00:34:31,105 --> 00:34:34,225
Some people, they have to live in
certain neighbourhoods
557
00:34:34,225 --> 00:34:35,705
so that they can afford it.
558
00:34:35,705 --> 00:34:39,545
So, the SHSAT really gives like
a chance for people
559
00:34:39,545 --> 00:34:44,145
who aren't as privileged to like be
able to have a very good education
560
00:34:44,145 --> 00:34:45,425
and a very good life.
561
00:34:45,425 --> 00:34:46,425
Hmm.
562
00:34:52,785 --> 00:34:56,505
Such is the focus in Asian American
communities on the SHSAT,
563
00:34:56,505 --> 00:35:01,585
a booming industry has arisen,
coaching students to pass the exam.
564
00:35:01,585 --> 00:35:03,905
Eugene took me
to his test prep centre,
565
00:35:03,905 --> 00:35:07,065
one of more than 400 in the city.
566
00:35:07,065 --> 00:35:08,865
If we're pouring 75 gallons,
567
00:35:08,865 --> 00:35:11,345
this is your conversion factor, OK?
568
00:35:11,345 --> 00:35:15,145
Once you have that conversion
factor, where do we go next?
569
00:35:15,145 --> 00:35:18,665
Stuyvesant admits around
850 students a year,
570
00:35:18,665 --> 00:35:25,505
and in 2019, 153 of them did test
prep at one of the A+ academies.
571
00:35:25,505 --> 00:35:28,185
I spoke to the director, Lulu.
572
00:35:28,185 --> 00:35:30,545
What do you think their kind of
end goal is?
573
00:35:30,545 --> 00:35:33,665
The parents want their kids
to have a better life.
574
00:35:33,665 --> 00:35:35,465
They don't have the connections.
575
00:35:35,465 --> 00:35:38,545
They don't have, you know, uncle Jim
who works at so-and-so firm
576
00:35:38,545 --> 00:35:40,505
that can get you the internship.
577
00:35:40,505 --> 00:35:42,825
They don't have the
money for private schools
578
00:35:42,825 --> 00:35:44,825
or special treatment or whatever.
579
00:35:44,825 --> 00:35:48,745
So, what they have is,
they have the ability to work hard
580
00:35:48,745 --> 00:35:53,145
and navigate through a meritocratic
educational system
581
00:35:53,145 --> 00:35:57,825
and get the education that can
empower them to the next level,
582
00:35:57,825 --> 00:36:00,145
to a good college, to a good job,
583
00:36:00,145 --> 00:36:04,545
so that they can achieve what
we call this American dream.
584
00:36:04,545 --> 00:36:08,465
How does this kind of very clear,
understandable system
585
00:36:08,465 --> 00:36:12,225
compare to other ways that people
might get on in America?
586
00:36:12,225 --> 00:36:14,745
Well, I think that the
word is fair, right?
587
00:36:14,745 --> 00:36:19,145
It's one standard,
one bar that is for everyone.
588
00:36:19,145 --> 00:36:23,145
Race-agnostic, you know,
gender-agnostic, income agnostic.
589
00:36:23,145 --> 00:36:25,465
They don't even check your name.
590
00:36:25,465 --> 00:36:27,505
It's, you know,
it's just your score.
591
00:36:27,505 --> 00:36:33,345
Yeah, cos it highlights something
about the kind of advantages
592
00:36:33,345 --> 00:36:36,585
that a lot of Americans have
that they don't realise they have.
593
00:36:36,585 --> 00:36:39,425
Right. It's kind of, it's hidden,
it's not, you know,
594
00:36:39,425 --> 00:36:43,025
it's not easily seen,
unless you don't have it.
595
00:36:45,505 --> 00:36:47,785
Is Eugene going to get into
Stuyvesant?
596
00:36:48,865 --> 00:36:51,465
If I had to bet my money on it,
I would think he can do it.
597
00:37:01,185 --> 00:37:06,825
So, Eugene, do you think that the
American dream is open to everyone?
598
00:37:06,825 --> 00:37:08,265
Yeah.
599
00:37:08,265 --> 00:37:11,585
Well, it depends
what your American dream is.
600
00:37:11,585 --> 00:37:14,665
If your American dream is
like obtainable and you're willing
601
00:37:14,665 --> 00:37:19,945
to work hard for it, then
I believe it is open for everyone.
602
00:37:19,945 --> 00:37:22,745
A lot of people that live in these
very expensive apartments
603
00:37:22,745 --> 00:37:24,305
we can see all round us, you know,
604
00:37:24,305 --> 00:37:27,865
do you think it's fair that they get
a lot of the opportunities
605
00:37:27,865 --> 00:37:30,225
that you are working really hard
for,
606
00:37:30,225 --> 00:37:32,585
without really working
quite as hard as you?
607
00:37:32,585 --> 00:37:35,985
I believe that you have to work hard
to obtain something,
608
00:37:35,985 --> 00:37:40,745
or else the thing that you have
obtained isn't like truly yours.
609
00:37:40,745 --> 00:37:44,065
You didn't put in the effort
to get it.
610
00:37:44,065 --> 00:37:46,345
Wow. Can I fist bump you to that?
611
00:37:46,345 --> 00:37:47,345
That's brilliant.
612
00:37:48,705 --> 00:37:50,065
That is such a good answer.
613
00:37:54,345 --> 00:37:55,785
Increasingly, on this journey,
614
00:37:55,785 --> 00:37:59,265
I'm becoming aware that there's
some anomaly in the kind of
615
00:37:59,265 --> 00:38:02,305
political landscape of America
that I'm sensing.
616
00:38:02,305 --> 00:38:06,705
Erm, I mean, traditionally,
the parties of the left -
617
00:38:06,705 --> 00:38:11,065
the Democrats - they were set up for
people at the bottom of the pile,
618
00:38:11,065 --> 00:38:12,385
to give them equal opportunities.
619
00:38:12,385 --> 00:38:14,665
They're the party of the people.
620
00:38:14,665 --> 00:38:16,265
And yet, in the last election,
621
00:38:16,265 --> 00:38:19,785
if you look at the counties
who voted for Hillary Clinton,
622
00:38:19,785 --> 00:38:25,185
the Democrat candidate, they account
for 64% of the GDP of this country.
623
00:38:25,185 --> 00:38:28,465
64% of the wealth
of the United States
624
00:38:28,465 --> 00:38:32,025
was located in the counties
that voted for Hillary Clinton.
625
00:38:32,025 --> 00:38:34,305
And who lives in those counties?
626
00:38:34,305 --> 00:38:36,625
The well-educated.
627
00:38:36,625 --> 00:38:39,745
And people like Eugene,
through his hard work
628
00:38:39,745 --> 00:38:43,625
and his clear-sightedness
of where the opportunities lay,
629
00:38:43,625 --> 00:38:47,025
he's hoping one day
to be on the inside.
630
00:38:47,025 --> 00:38:50,145
The problem might be, of course,
that there is a stockade at all.
631
00:38:59,785 --> 00:39:02,625
I've travelled up the coast
to the last village
632
00:39:02,625 --> 00:39:06,985
I'm visiting on this journey,
the town of Westport, Connecticut.
633
00:39:06,985 --> 00:39:09,305
It's now largely a commuter town,
634
00:39:09,305 --> 00:39:12,465
and the ninth-wealthiest
community in America.
635
00:39:12,465 --> 00:39:14,905
In the 2016 presidential election,
636
00:39:14,905 --> 00:39:19,905
Westport voted by 68%
to 27% for Hillary Clinton.
637
00:39:21,225 --> 00:39:23,865
It can be hard for us all to see
ourselves as others see us,
638
00:39:23,865 --> 00:39:26,385
but this journey has helped
me see the coastal elites
639
00:39:26,385 --> 00:39:28,625
as a Trump supporter may.
640
00:39:29,665 --> 00:39:32,545
Trump has cleverly driven
a wedge between places like this
641
00:39:32,545 --> 00:39:34,865
and other parts of America.
642
00:39:34,865 --> 00:39:38,145
It's a manoeuvre which played a key
part in his success last time,
643
00:39:38,145 --> 00:39:41,185
and is shaping up to be his
strategy again.
644
00:39:44,025 --> 00:39:48,585
At what might well be the poshest
protest I've ever attended, I met
645
00:39:48,585 --> 00:39:53,385
art teacher, homemaker and local
Democratic party activist Darcy.
646
00:39:54,545 --> 00:39:57,545
We're all standing in Medina
in Morocco and it was
647
00:39:57,545 --> 00:40:02,665
so beautiful, the love that I felt
in that moment.
648
00:40:02,665 --> 00:40:07,305
And I went back to our hotel,
649
00:40:07,305 --> 00:40:10,865
and I opened my Facebook
to find that
650
00:40:10,865 --> 00:40:15,585
a swastika had been discovered
at my high school that I went to.
651
00:40:17,025 --> 00:40:18,905
And that really...
652
00:40:20,025 --> 00:40:24,705
..hit me, that something was very,
very wrong with our country.
653
00:40:27,945 --> 00:40:30,505
Darcy took me for a spin
in her Tesla
654
00:40:30,505 --> 00:40:32,825
to the neighbouring town
of Bridgeport,
655
00:40:32,825 --> 00:40:33,985
and it seemed a world away.
656
00:40:35,065 --> 00:40:38,145
What's the relationship
of Bridgeport to Westport?
657
00:40:39,665 --> 00:40:43,105
Well, proximity-wise it's
incredibly close.
658
00:40:43,105 --> 00:40:46,105
But in every other way,
it's incredibly distant.
659
00:40:46,105 --> 00:40:49,505
The inequality between Bridgeport
and Westport is so vast,
660
00:40:49,505 --> 00:40:51,825
it's about race and poverty.
661
00:40:51,825 --> 00:40:54,585
And those are the two things that,
662
00:40:54,585 --> 00:40:57,585
for some reason, aren't a big
part of the conversation.
663
00:40:57,585 --> 00:41:01,225
People like to argue about guns,
you know, immigration laws,
664
00:41:01,225 --> 00:41:04,185
they like to argue about women's
health, abortion laws,
665
00:41:04,185 --> 00:41:05,865
abortion bans.
666
00:41:05,865 --> 00:41:08,345
Inequality is a difficult
thing to bring up.
667
00:41:08,345 --> 00:41:11,865
You can talk about the kind of
culture war, so to speak. Right.
668
00:41:11,865 --> 00:41:15,185
But you can't talk
about their really economic
669
00:41:15,185 --> 00:41:18,345
and social issues that are
at the base of it. Right.
670
00:41:18,345 --> 00:41:21,025
What's wonderful about Westport
is that people are fighting
671
00:41:21,025 --> 00:41:22,665
for things that don't affect them.
672
00:41:22,665 --> 00:41:25,385
I mean, you see people on the bridge
screaming about, you know,
673
00:41:25,385 --> 00:41:27,945
immigration laws and they're
not immigrants.
674
00:41:27,945 --> 00:41:30,785
You know, we don't really have
immigrants in Westport.
675
00:41:30,785 --> 00:41:33,625
The people that do their gardens
might be immigrants though?
676
00:41:33,625 --> 00:41:35,265
That's for sure.
677
00:41:46,745 --> 00:41:49,865
When I come home and I, you know,
678
00:41:49,865 --> 00:41:53,265
lie by my pool it feels very...
679
00:41:53,265 --> 00:41:55,345
..ah, dirty sometimes.
680
00:41:55,345 --> 00:41:59,065
I feel very guilty and very, like,
I don't want anybody to see me
681
00:41:59,065 --> 00:42:01,905
doing this, because it's not fair.
682
00:42:01,905 --> 00:42:03,825
It's just not fair, you know, and...
683
00:42:03,825 --> 00:42:05,665
But you're not going to give it up?
684
00:42:05,665 --> 00:42:08,265
Of course I'm not going
to give up my life, but I give.
685
00:42:08,265 --> 00:42:12,065
You're a liberal, but you wouldn't
describe yourself as a socialist?
686
00:42:12,065 --> 00:42:13,945
No, no.
687
00:42:13,945 --> 00:42:16,585
You know what? I wish
I was a socialist.
688
00:42:18,025 --> 00:42:19,665
That's what it is. I'm a...
689
00:42:21,145 --> 00:42:23,465
..aspiring, that's my ideal...
690
00:42:23,465 --> 00:42:27,385
..is to just be able to say,
you know, "Here you go."
691
00:42:27,385 --> 00:42:30,505
Wouldn't it be lovely if you were
just an arch capitalist?
692
00:42:30,505 --> 00:42:33,105
Right. And all you cared about
was making money?
693
00:42:33,105 --> 00:42:35,945
Yeah, oh, my God, life would be
so easy. It would be, wouldn't it?
694
00:42:35,945 --> 00:42:38,305
I'd go to sleep, I would
sleep soundly.
695
00:42:38,305 --> 00:42:41,225
I look at the ballot paper sometimes
and I think it would be so easy
696
00:42:41,225 --> 00:42:42,945
to be a right-winger. Yeah.
697
00:42:42,945 --> 00:42:44,585
I wouldn't have the guilt...
698
00:42:44,585 --> 00:42:46,225
Life is so simple!
699
00:42:46,225 --> 00:42:48,225
You don't have to worry about
anybody else
700
00:42:48,225 --> 00:42:51,705
but yourself and your family...
Yeah, it would be... Your money.
701
00:42:51,705 --> 00:42:54,265
Talking about the guilt and shame,
702
00:42:54,265 --> 00:42:58,185
they do seem central to...
703
00:42:58,185 --> 00:43:01,905
..erm, a lot of the experience
of the people
704
00:43:01,905 --> 00:43:05,145
I've been talking
to in various ways.
705
00:43:05,145 --> 00:43:08,425
Their ecological values,
their educational values,
706
00:43:08,425 --> 00:43:10,745
their personal values.
707
00:43:10,745 --> 00:43:16,025
They're all good, but they all
seem to add up to an exclusiveness.
708
00:43:16,025 --> 00:43:19,425
Yeah, and then what happens
is the perception is,
709
00:43:19,425 --> 00:43:22,505
look at all these people who
stand for these ideals.
710
00:43:22,505 --> 00:43:25,665
They're all wealthy,
they're all educated,
711
00:43:25,665 --> 00:43:28,745
they're all living in this
part of the country
712
00:43:28,745 --> 00:43:31,945
because that's where the wealthy,
educated people tend to live.
713
00:43:34,665 --> 00:43:37,665
It's not helping them at all,
because they're seen as elitist,
714
00:43:37,665 --> 00:43:39,105
out of touch.
715
00:43:39,105 --> 00:43:42,145
And they are, terribly out of touch,
716
00:43:42,145 --> 00:43:45,985
erm, with working class America
and poor America.
717
00:43:45,985 --> 00:43:48,385
And I'm one of those people.
718
00:43:48,385 --> 00:43:51,585
Because Westport's a bubble,
I mean, it is part of a very,
719
00:43:51,585 --> 00:43:54,145
very, very thick-skinned bubble.
720
00:43:55,785 --> 00:44:00,145
I mean, time and time again we've
all been surprised
721
00:44:00,145 --> 00:44:02,465
by our own countrymen,
722
00:44:02,465 --> 00:44:06,985
you know, on elections and round
certain social issues,
723
00:44:06,985 --> 00:44:10,865
and the surprise shouldn't be
a surprise, you know,
724
00:44:10,865 --> 00:44:14,265
if we knew more about who we live
with in this country,
725
00:44:14,265 --> 00:44:16,305
but we're constantly shocked.
726
00:44:16,305 --> 00:44:19,785
It shows when we're shocked that
we've been living in a bubble.
727
00:44:22,825 --> 00:44:26,065
Darcy is one of the very few people
I've met on this journey
728
00:44:26,065 --> 00:44:29,905
who's willing to admit they're
a member of the liberal elite.
729
00:44:29,905 --> 00:44:33,185
But everything I've seen confirms
for me that they -
730
00:44:33,185 --> 00:44:36,705
hey, let's be honest about it, we -
are indeed a thing.
731
00:44:38,025 --> 00:44:40,825
What's happening in the US
is happening in the UK.
732
00:44:41,945 --> 00:44:44,545
Growing division caused
by inequality is an issue
733
00:44:44,545 --> 00:44:46,865
here as well as there.
734
00:44:46,865 --> 00:44:50,145
And if its beneficiaries want to
escape the consequences,
735
00:44:50,145 --> 00:44:53,945
they're going to need
a bigger boat.
736
00:44:58,385 --> 00:45:02,305
Through the kind of invisible
forces of education
737
00:45:02,305 --> 00:45:05,785
and the coded language and the
shared politics and values
738
00:45:05,785 --> 00:45:09,185
and little, sort of, tasteful
messages they're giving out
739
00:45:09,185 --> 00:45:13,585
left, right and centre about their
food and their houses and whatever,
740
00:45:13,585 --> 00:45:17,105
they're kind of making
an exclusionary barrier
741
00:45:17,105 --> 00:45:20,625
and it has a real effect
on other people,
742
00:45:20,625 --> 00:45:22,105
it keeps them out.
743
00:45:23,385 --> 00:45:27,105
And I think that this group does
not want to admit to it.
744
00:45:27,105 --> 00:45:30,145
Because they are good, they're
not doing it on purpose!
745
00:45:30,145 --> 00:45:32,105
But...
746
00:45:32,105 --> 00:45:35,785
..I think they've got to look
at themselves, because...
747
00:45:35,785 --> 00:45:39,705
..the liberal elite, they've kind
of taken their eye off the ball
748
00:45:39,705 --> 00:45:43,625
and there's an elephant in the room
that is the consequence of them
749
00:45:43,625 --> 00:45:46,385
not paying attention to
the rest of America
750
00:45:46,385 --> 00:45:51,185
and that elephant has got fuzzy
yellow hair and a very orange tan.
751
00:45:51,185 --> 00:45:54,225
And I think Mr Trump...
752
00:45:54,225 --> 00:45:57,905
..is the result
of their complacency.
753
00:46:00,145 --> 00:46:03,105
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