Karen and I have been up and down and all around the United States for eleven years now. Are things fucked up? Yes, work sucks for most; inequality is grotesque; and environmental degradation is remarkably advanced. But still, we meet plenty of good people, from the women who clean the motel rooms to the interesting people we meet sometimes on hiking trails to those with whom we strike up casual conversations to the students I teach every January. By no means is everyone in the United States uncaring about what they see around them. Plus beauty abounds in the United States, which is why so many visitors come from around the world. And look at all the young folks doing such good things now. Who knows what might happen in years to come? Now the above is about the United States, at least what I see. If we extend our view to the world, there is an incredible amount of misery. Still, though, revolt seems to be in the air. I am not sure what it means to say that NYC is the only place in the country with real and uniformly decent people. I'm in a good mood today, or I might be inclined to say that that was one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever read! Check out my chapter on Manhattan in Cheap Motels and a Hotplate. The writer who came to dinner at our apartment and some of the folks who invited me to speak at Columbia come to mind as counter examples. real, yes. Decent, no.