In a defense of Mike, i just finished A Fever in the Heartland centering on Indiana where I grew up. And then the comparison would certainly hold as nearly all the important people in a town, in LE, or government, were members of the KKK. Maybe it is a bit harsh in this instance and maybe David Brooks is just a well polished hypocrite. Here in Salem, Oregon, where I live now, there is no hangings, but plenty of undercover pressure if certain people get too progressive. Now, I am reading Poverty, by America and it may be that we, who have enough, are all to blame for poverty. It is an enlightening book.