I'm an unapologetic New Yorker. I love my hometown but it's becoming increasingly more difficult to tolerate the intolerant ravings of my friends and neighbors.
I drove from New York to California last Fall. Once I got beyond the suburbs of the Northeast, the climate changed dramatically. In every diner, gas station, grocery store and motel there were large posters of the World Trade Center, captioned "Never Forget". The spirit of friendship and unity extended to me in every "Red" county I visited made me proud to be an American and even more proud to be a New Yorker. The images we see every day on the Today Show demonstrate the genuine affection that Americans feel for New York, as Katie, Matt and Al interview "Red State" tourists outside their studio.
It's embarrassing that New Yorkers who have never traveled beyond their narrow-minded province deride and disparage fellow Americans they've never met and will never understand.
Never Forget! Unfortunately, many of my fellow New Yorkers have defective memory chips implanted in their skulls.
Don't be embarrassed. It's a universal failing. You'll find it in every small town, medium sized city, and burgenoning metropolis in America. Misconceptions abound about almost every part of the country. Except for California. It's all true. ;)