David Brooks, Senior Editor of the Weekly Standard, has written a perceptive, but (to me) troubling book about the state of the upper middle class American ethos. Titled Bobos In Paradise, it posits a new ruling class, the bohemian bourgeoisie (“bobo”), that has been created by bridging the opposing cultural value systems. Briefly, Bobos are hard working, affluent, professional, non-partisan, non-ideological, moderately religious or “spiritual”, and basically content, i.e., the information age elite. They have absorbed both sides of the culture war that has been raging for at least thirty years, and they almost never get outraged. Their leaders are not co0nviction driven; they “triangulate” and seek out the various “third way” strategies beyond left and right, such as “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Confrontation is not their game, neither are bold policy initiatives, and they certainly do not want to make harsh moral judgments. So if the bourgeoisie and bohemians have merged, who got the better of the deal? Brooks thinks the bourgeoisie did, because their commercial values triumphed over the bohemian complaints about capitalistic corruption of culture. In the process, however, the bourgeoisie has adopted much of the cultural value system and world view of the bohemian which essentially grew out of the European Romanticism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries: the virtues hedonism, self-expression, creativity, and imagination. Establishment Bobos rarely present a well grounded and consistent set of ideas and public policy initiatives based on strong conviction or worldview. My observation of many Bobos in positions of opinion leadership, particularly in the business community, is that they could be categorized as the “don’t get me hurt” coalition. In other words, the avoidance of any high profile confrontation on controversial issues, particularly of the cultural variety, is a high priority for them. While pointing out some perils, Brooks seems to take a balanced view of the world of the Bobos. I’m not so sanguine and, in fact, I deplore much of what I see in Boboland. Recently, The Houston Chronicle ran a syndicated article by Judy Hevrdejs entitled “Average America”, which reported on the growing American tendency to exalt the mundane in life. Of course, the word mundane itself is defined as “from the secular world, distinguished from the heavenly or spiritual.” The TV show Seinfeld is described as the ultimate show about the mundane. Today, it is trendy and virtuous to be mundane. Am I mistaken in feeling that this is a Machiavellian trait? Is this what America is about? Have we lost the sense of exceptionalism that separated America, with its high moral ideals and unique historical mission, from other cultures? Have we become so detached and cynical that public endeavor in pursuit of the big questions is reduced to risk-free pragmatism? With encroaching Boboism, I fear the answers to these questions, as I am reminded of W. B. Yeats’ famous lines, “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”