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The hell there isn't. When I want intelligent conversation and real people I'll go to red America. If I wanted Woody Allen, I'll go to Blue America.
In the magazine, he claims:
" You won't find much crusader zeal in Franklin County.
For one thing, people in small towns don't want to offend people whom they'll be encountering on the streets for the next fifty years. Potentialy controversial subjects are often played down. ---- snip ------ It would be simply uncivil to thrust raw disagreement in peoples faces."
I've seen this meself, as I grew up in a small town.
So maybe FR's uncivility is just due to its anonomous nature?