Is anyone else depressed from hearing so much about the misery in America? Even though we know there isn't much to be hopeful or joyful about, it might be nice to hear news that isn't totally about economic malaise or the alleged "good news" television stations are airing, full of tips as to how we can survive this recession. If you're interested, read on.
   
Trying to find respite from the national misery, I recently visited a friend's lakeshore cottage in Northern Minnesota. While I was keen to watch the waves that ripple over an amazingly sparkling West Battle Lake (about 180 miles northwest of Minneapolis), I also wanted to go to the nearby town of New York Mills — a place of some 1,400 that is much like many other small American towns, except that it seems as if nearly everyone in New York Mills is of Finnish descent. The town also is the very proud host of an annual philosophy debate called The Great American Think-Off. The Think-Off was the reason I wanted to visit, although I'm not a philosopher.

At first blush, one wouldn't think such a town would be able to host a philosophy debate these days, especially one held in a new performing arts center that could easily be situated in a much larger city and moderated by a local columnist who writes as well as many who write for major metropolitan dailies.

I don't say this because philosophical debates, beautiful auditoriums or erudite writers can or should only be found in big cities full of "cultured" people in black clothing who live on little more than chocolate martinis. I say this because New York Mills is much like so many small American towns that have been hurled against the wall by this economy. Farming is a big part of life, and it's not easy to farm during a bad recession marked by unstable oil prices. As well, New York Mills is like a lot of other small places in that it has one predominant employer. In this case, the employer is Lund Boats, the manufacturer of many of the aluminum crafts that putter around American lakes in search of walleye, trout and other fish. As it is, Lund recently announced it will shut for six weeks. So with little other work currently available, it's more than a little rough in New York Mills these days.

But I promised happier news. And on one fine early summer night, hundreds of mostly local people paid $12 each to hear four Think-Off finalists from various parts of the United States  (selected from more than 500 contestants) debate this year's question, which concerned the idea as to whether it is sometimes wrong to do right.

What the finalists said was not of the greatest importance to me, especially as I thought one invoked his religion too much, another tried too hard to simplify things, and the winner, a lawyer who said it can sometimes be wrong to do the right thing, often sounded like a talking legal textbook. No, what struck me hard was how the audience members, many of whom probably are out of work or will be unemployed soon enough, were listening with attention that went beyond rapt to postulations that may not have had much to do with their everyday lives. At the intermission, many people did line up to buy brownies made by local children, but they kept talking about what the finalists had put forth.

Now you might say people need diversion during bad times. But the fact that on one Saturday night, the people of one American town chose to thoughtfully consider one of life's deeper and sometimes nastier questions instead of just hoisting cold ones and watching Internet stupidity says so much. To me, it says that maybe Americans, in the face of misery, are not bereft of hope and joy. Or philosophy.

Maybe it means that though things are tough, we might make it. And isn't that news worth hearing?

Mary Stanik, a writer and public-relations professional, lives in Minneapolis.