You are absolutely right, that the people who landed in these tent cities did so as a result of their own unwillingness to take responsibility. Which seems to be a hallmark of Americanism these days. But it doesn't lessen the impact of having people crapping in holes and begging on street corners in our cities. Living in the city here I see a more depressed and desperate aspect of humanity than I ever saw in Flag.

And I see the real fragility of my own situation. I could end up there too. And not because I was lazy. I have worked hard. It would be because I was ignorant, uninformed, and foolhardy. I still may pay a high price for my reckless youth. And I can't say yet if I would trade it. All my years of running around the rivers and mountains were joyous, yes, but staring down the barrel of so many dire potential futures I cannot help but to wish that I had known better sooner. Hindsight is a poor apology for lack of foresight.