Eating Ice Cream in Vienna - Democracy Means You

Published 2005
Democracy Means You


Eating Ice Cream in Vienna
I’ll take three scoops of social democracy, please

I’m fed up with driving.

Oh sure, I enjoy retreating to my days as a misfit adolescent, blasting my CDs full volume as I careen down the highway (well, okay, that is a hyperbolic description of my current more temperate driving tactics – but I do like to blast those tunes). I also extract immense pleasure from the baleful glares and malicious middle fingers shot in my direction in response to the layers of brashly liberal bumper stickers adorning my car (besides, the exaltations I get from more savory individuals provides a nice counterpoint to the hateful hostility spewed my way). And, finally, I am proud to flaunt my humble Hybrid as symbolic flouting of American oil- and pollution-addiction.

But let’s face the facts, shall we? And the most fatal of those facts is, we Americans are held hostage by our vehicles. There are American cities in which c Jars are not a necessity, thankfully, but most metropolises in the U.S. at least rely somewhat on cars for transportation.

New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Seattle - these are some of the major American metropolises that provide decent bus and subway transit. And we should applaud these cities for providing needed services to the masses.

Still, many American cities feature inadequate transportation services, and some offer downright anemic services. This is inexcusable in this, the most affluent country on planet earth.

In contrast, many European cities - big and small - are paragons of transportation efficacy. Take, for example, Vienna.

This past summer it was my great fortune to pay a visit to Vienna, a city renowned for its love of Mozart and museums.

But what thrilled me about Vienna, besides its obvious Èobsession with the arts, was the city’s extremely efficient, if somewhat complex, transportation network. Above-ground, Vienna is a dizzying maze of tram tracks, bus lanes, and bike paths, all criss-crossing and swirling around the city, while below the surface, subways wend their way through a labyrinth of tunnels. True, above-ground it’s a bit bewildering and potentially disconcerting for pedestrian tourists, who must navigate through forests of cyclers and remain ultra-vigilant when they venture across the streets, since trams sometimes go against traffic.

But spend a week in the city, and you get the idea that the Viennese themselves happily tolerate the chaos. The entire system gives the impression of a city that respects all ˇits citizens, regardless of income.

The Viennese system, indeed, stands as a monument to the idea of equitable transportation access. In other words, the Viennese get it that transportation does not just exist for the privileged. It is also a testimony to the idea that the more widely available transit services are, the more widely they are used, by people from all economic strata.

And the fact that in Vienna bicycle paths are ubiquitous, and its many sidewalks are well-maintained, speaks to the idea that the Viennese recognize that there are multiple modes of transportation, besides just cars.

In American mindset, however, cars reign. In the American mindset, mainly the poor ride mass transit, and the middle class and wealthy own cars. And as a resul Ót of this muddled mindset, the middle class and affluent are averse to taking mass transit, rife as it is with the perceived criminal class.

And in many American cities, the vehicle and highway lobby hold sway, which precludes more facile access to European-style transportation networks.

But access to public transportion is a cornerstone of social-democracy.
In social democracies like Austria, the individual triumphs when societal needs are nurtured. This is the antithesis of the American dream, wherein the indivdual triumphs when one looks out for oneself. In reality, of course, this is pathetic propaganda. For many, this “dream” of self-serving introversion is an utter nightmare.

While I was in Vienna, the other thing that stood out º so starkly besides the arts and the terrific transportation was that the people loved eating ice cream - Gelato in particular. Gelato shops appear on every corner, just about, and the Viennese mill about the streets lazily licking their cones. It’s a Zen-esque delight to behold.

In many American cities, how to get to work with minimal traffic hassles or how to spend less than three hours to commute to work via an inadequate transporation system is often the most anxiety-inducing aspect of a person’s daily routine.

But in a city where social democracy thrives, what flavor of ice cream to order after dinner is likely the maximum stress a person experiences in one day.