What do most people think of Idaho? Well, see, that's the problem - they don't think of Idaho. Despite its breathtaking natural beauty and the fact that it's crammed to the gills with eccentrics and freethinkers, Idaho may as well be the moon as far as the rest of America is concerned.
Jim Goad recently spent a week in Idaho mingling with state troopers, political extremists, collegiate progressives, and heartbreakingly friendly locals. Spending most of the week in the wilderness allowed him to examine one of the most pervasive yet ignored forms of cultural bigotry - the endless disdain that "urban supremacists" have for rural people. In this case, the countryside wins by a landslide.