This piece of paper was, I kid you not, once held up to the camera on a television news broadcast as part of a traffic report, as they had been unable to get a cameraperson to the scene of the highway closure.

I really do believe that, by the way. Our cities are the most American places in the United States—they represent what and who we are in a way in an incredibly rich and profound way. And until we as a country accept that, embrace that, celebrate that, we're fucked.