The 2005 annual Maine Town Meeting program offered participants an opportunity to listen to the views of Dr. James Morone, who has authored Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History. Morone’s talk focused on the role morality has played in the formulation of public policy in the United States. Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, the book is an analysis of “us” versus “them” and the complexities of community, race, and morality. “Americans don’t like government,” says Dr. Morone. “There is a huge difference between the way we treat different people, strangers to us. We are really tough on them. We are a nation of tough love and zero tolerance.” Morone talked about the Puritans who believed that God had pre-ordained some for heaven and some for hell. “Americans take religion seriously and they keep the moral pot always boiling. As soon as you are frightened of someone, all the rules change. If you can demonize your enemy, you can get political action.” Every generation has said that “young people don’t have a moral sense.” “However,” states Morone, “we have survived our depravity and we still keeping ticking along. Maybe our kids are not so bad."