An American Utopia
A week’s visit to Chautauqua Institution
As a cynical big city dweller for the last 25 years, I’d be pretty skeptical about finding anywhere in this country you’d characterize as a “utopia”. In the early 21st century, our society seems to be becoming increasingly disconnected, partisan, and more intolerant of those who don’t “belong”. We have become a nation where the states are conveniently tagged as “red” or “blue” in the roadmap of campaign strategies and the never-ending election cycle. Thus I find myself surprised after spending a week at the Chautauqua Institution in southwest New York state to be calling it a “modern day Shangri-La”. Here’s why.
Within its gates, you become transported to a time in the distant past (or perhaps in the future) where people seem to uphold a higher sense of being or conduct about how life should be lived. There is no litter on the streets. People can ride their bikes around town and leave them unlocked without fear of theft. Kids can ride from one side of town to the other unfettered. This is a type of freedom unheard of in major metropolises like the one where I currently live. For the most part, people are unfailingly polite and considerate. Conversations are struck easily with a stranger sitting next to you at the community concert, or in passing at the bus stop. There are classes and lectures abound, promoting the values of lifelong learning. A vast number of town folk seem to have advanced degrees. It is quiet at night. There are payphones and newspaper boys (and girls!) hawking the daily paper. You can’t help but want to enjoy a lemonade on one of the many porches and verandas attached to the quaint cottages around the town square. There is a palpable sense of trust. It is something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
So, what’s the catch?
Well for starters there’s a significant cost to buy into this community. There are issues of privilege, as newly built private development on the north side of town feature luxury homes on large lots seem to herald the dawn of an exclusive community that may not be within the reach of marginalized sectors of society. It is also overwhelmingly white. As a person of color, I am quite aware of the mono-cultural composition of the town. There are efforts to increase the racial diversity and I truly hope they bear fruit in the years to come. The average age also seems closer to your grandparents than to us — while there are a growing number of families with young children who attend, many of the residents have been coming back for decades. I attended a session for families where one theme was addressing the needs of families who can only attend for a week, versus spending the entire nine week season. I will also say that the activities for my kids was terrific — there is a children’s school and club that my kids raved about. If there was a model summer camp, this would be right there at the top.
So, how does an institution like this grow and evolve, while maintaining its core values? It seems like Chautauqua is aware of the need to change to stay relevant to a younger generation, for example, adding wi-fi around public spaces and more family-friendly activities. There seems to be more emphasis on attracting people of color, both on staff and as visiting artists and lecturers. One huge component of this place is the presence of religious denomination houses, mainly from the mainstream Protestant Christian and Jewish religions. There is an ecumenical bent here, with many of the denominations cooperating on events, and there is no overt proselytizing, though many of the un-churched may feel uncomfortable with the religious themes woven into the weekly topics. It is a large part, I believe, of what undergirds all the positive vibes I’ve felt this past week. This is a place where a significant number of retired professors and ministers come to spend their summer. The combination of academic firepower and religious zeal for social change creates a heady zeitgeist that touches both the head and heart. It is a respite from the cold, cruel world that lays outside its gates. A New York Times review of this place said it best:
In 1899, after the philosopher William James visited Chautauqua, the combination arts festival and resort here in southwestern New York, he wrote that he was ‘’spellbound by the charm and ease of everything, by the middle-class paradise, without a victim, without a blot, without a tear.’’ But James said he was astonished on entering ‘’the dark and wicked world again, to catch myself quite unexpectedly and involuntarily saying: ‘Ouf! what a relief! Now for something primordial and savage.’
For an older generation, utopia meant quiet and peace. To grow and attract a more diverse range of future supporters, I think Chautauqua will have to get a bit more messy and loud.
