This is a New England town. It has all the powers that cities

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This is a New England town.

It has all the powers that cities do in most places. It can generally make its own laws, raise its own revenues (or not), etc., so long as it doesn't violate state law or the state constitution.

Its laws are decided by town meeting, which is an annual gathering of all citizens who choose to participate.

Its people mostly live around this compact center, where most of the businesses and services also are. It's possible to walk to most of them.

There is a train station that goes to a major city fifteen minutes away by car.

There is only one bus stop, and it doesn't go anywhere anybody but an ailing retiree would want to go.

The people mostly get along be being private but civic-minded. They don't like to talk with each other and spend most of their time to themselves, but they pay their taxes and expect there to be strong institutions and many government services available for convenience and necessity.

Some people are religious but nobody talks about religion.

Some people are political but nobody talks about politics.

There are a lot of English, French, and Irish people living there. Most people are of two or more ancestries. There are also some Italians, Jews, Muslims, African-Americans, Hispanics (Caribbean, not Mexican), Polish, Portuguese, and Greeks. The latter run the pizza place.

The school system is well-funded and well-administered. Most people have college degrees. Educational achievement is respected and intellectual authority is deferred to in areas of relevant expertise. People keep lots books in their houses.

As soon as you leave the borders of this town, you enter another town just like it. Almost every part of New England is part of one town or another.

So, /int/, where did America go wrong? It could have all been like this.