Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
Main Street [noncount] US — used to refer to middle-class people in the U.S. who have traditional beliefs and values
▪ What does Main Street think of this policy?
Traditional beliefs and values, such as...?
NOT A TEACHER
(1) As usual, you have asked a great question. I shall be very careful
in answering you -- to avoid having my post deleted or this thread moved
to another forum or closed.
(2) First, as you know, traditionally many American cities had a
principal street. In other words, a "main" street. (I think our British
friends call it the High Street; I believe that Spanish people use the
word "primera").
(3) I am an old man. When I was younger, middle-class values
referred to certain cultural values that Americans had developed. Their
ancestors had primarily come from Western Europe. Here are
some values that I was taught and still believe in:
(1) Being a good sport. When the other side wins, you congratulate
them on having been the "better man." Nowadays, as you know,
many people do not believe this: look at the violence practiced by
many fans at soccer games, etc. In my city recently, two baseball
fans beat the fan of another team so badly that he is still in the
hospital in a coma.
(2) A man's word is his bond. In the "old days," if you promised
something and shook hands, you were expected to keep your word.
Today in the United States, there are millions of lawyers and our
courts are completely crowded because so many companies and
individual citizens are, well, liars.
(3) Go the extra mile. When I go to a store and ask where something
is, the sales associate (the elegant word for "clerk') will often
just point and grunt: "Over there." In the "good old days"
(which, of course, were never that good), a clerk was expected to
personally escort you to the area. Going the extra mile = doing
a little more than is necessary.
(4) Here is something that middle class people were taught:
You pretend not to see what you have just seen. When someone
does something embarrassing, you pretend that it did not happen,
lest the other person be humiliated even more. In other words,
just good old plain manners. Nowadays, a lot of people will start
laughing at or ridiculing someone who has done something
embarrassing.
(4) Well, I think that you get the point. One more thing: when
I was younger, athletes and movie stars and even the bosses
of big companies did not receive the absurdly high salaries that
they earn today. That is why some Americans feel that we
have lost our way and dream of returning to "traditional
values."
Respectfully yours,
James