Could the experience of being a campground host change a person's political orientation? Perhaps it is worth generalizing this to: will working with the general public change your political views?
I am inclined to answer, Yes. I seem to be switching from libertarian to MRAG, that is, Mildly Repressive Authoritarian Regimes.
This switch does not please me. But there is a big caveat: seeing tourists all day is like teaching second grade. The tourist is not really an adult. Implicit in the libertarian viewpoint is the idea that you are dealing with adults who are responsible for their actions.
The child or adolescent gives little concern for the long term consequences of its actions. And it gives no concern for the effect on other people.
Society as a whole has become progressively more adolescent over the last hundred years. The welfare state deserves its share of the credit for this. But even more, the culture of consumer debt has enabled a childish "Gimme it now" mindset that has become an entrenched habit.
Perpetual adolescence is also encouraged by spending too many years in school.
So the tourist is not out-of-step with its society in thinking like a child. The more childish society becomes, the more it needs Government to be its mummy.
I am inclined to answer, Yes. I seem to be switching from libertarian to MRAG, that is, Mildly Repressive Authoritarian Regimes.
This switch does not please me. But there is a big caveat: seeing tourists all day is like teaching second grade. The tourist is not really an adult. Implicit in the libertarian viewpoint is the idea that you are dealing with adults who are responsible for their actions.
The child or adolescent gives little concern for the long term consequences of its actions. And it gives no concern for the effect on other people.
Society as a whole has become progressively more adolescent over the last hundred years. The welfare state deserves its share of the credit for this. But even more, the culture of consumer debt has enabled a childish "Gimme it now" mindset that has become an entrenched habit.
Perpetual adolescence is also encouraged by spending too many years in school.
So the tourist is not out-of-step with its society in thinking like a child. The more childish society becomes, the more it needs Government to be its mummy.
Comments
But there's a silver lining: you get to discover wonderful, shining examples of decent human beings who abide by rules, are considerate of their fellow campers, and even keep good humor if advised of something they might not have realized (e.g. campfire bans and such). Being able to meet these too-rare, exceptional people almost makes being a campground host worthwhile.