I didn't want the atlas to be obsolete before it was even printed, so I had to keep these things to a minimum. Generalizations Still, some regional patterns emerge, even at the relatively rough level of the states, and ones that last beyond the ups and downs of the regional business cycle. Some are obvious, some less so. Diversity is mainly a feature of a handful of states, notably California, Florida, New York, and Texas. True to the cliches of Nashville, the South is also a hotbed of marriage and divorce.
Illiteracy is concentrated in the South, New York, and California.
AIDS is a disease of big coastal cities. Sodomy laws are concentrated in the South and Mountain West, while gays and lesbians enjoy civil rights protection in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and the West Coast. Openness One of the oddities of researching social life in this country is the plenitude of data. Government and private agencies collect unimaginable quantities of information on us, and with few exceptions are happy to share it. The economists, demographers, and other analysts who collect and distribute the data are almost always happy to share unpublished information, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their products, and advise on interpretation.