Quiet Street: On American Privilege

McDonell (The Council of Animals) tells the story of growing up in New York City’s wealthy and influential Upper East Side, where he enjoyed all the privileges of sailing lessons, trips to the Met, and holidays in private jets. Those not in his social group—mostly impoverished suburbanites who weren’t white—were considered outsiders, and he ignored their existence. This work is a bold, moving description of the white ruling class of the American elite and how they unjustly maintain and pass on their privileges to their children. The author’s fear is that the one percent in the United States will never have any serious thoughts about how to bring equality to all. The author notes they have been and remain unexposed and ignorant of those “others” and therefore lack any interest in their lives and fates. The book suggests that conversations between these divided groups could lead to better understanding and empathy for everyone. He bases this theory on his personal awakening when, as a reporter in Iraq and Afghanistan, he had an eye-opening revelation about people and a world he did not know existed.