I was also heartened to see quite a few comments that were skeptical of the
perspective of the "locals" in the "rural vs. urban" article. I started
subscribing to NYT after the inauguration in protest of the "fake news" lie
about NYT, etc. But I have learned in the last year that oftentimes the
comments attached to Opinion pieces seem more informed and articulate than the
piece itself. Now I often go right for the comments rather than read the
Opinion piece! And I skip the "NYT Picks" comments too (who decides?).
"Reader's Picks" are comments sorted by upvotes which gives an idea of
passionate readership, gratifyingly level-headed nationwide, imo, at least in
the subjects I'm interested in.
Glad to read Joel's comments there.