Nice over view. In deed many people try to escape the rural hate that seems to be growing by the day. I once liked rural areas but now feel myself to be less welcome there than ever. And your point on conservatism as it is today (racist, unfortunately) is spot on.

To answer your question, though, in terms of suburbs as our savior… in a single word: no. The suburbs, though better than rural areas in terms of not being racist or prejudice in ways many of us find abhorrent, seem to have pulled us through the latest midterms by choosing something different than the far right.

But here in Washington we have a loss of a possible carbon tax because of those very same suburbs.

IOW because of these suburbs we’re not in hell but we’re still close to it.

And therein lies the rub. Much of suburban living (and rural living, all those fields of corn have a huge regime of subsidies behind them) relies on subsidies for that living, to say nothing of the carbon expended for that way of life.

We’re facing other large choices in our near future if we are to save our planet for human civilization and there still seems to be a majority of people in our country who don’t seem to want to make the sacrifice for that change.

Let’s see, I suppose.