“If patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels, boosterism is the first refuge of the second-rate.” So says Cleveland arts critic John Kappes, who is getting more than a little sick of his city’s provincial fear of responsible critical writing. Most of the letters he gets sing the same tune: “There isn’t enough criticism. No, we mean there’s too much criticism. And besides, we’re sure they’d like it in New York.” Real cities with a truly distinctive cultural scene do not give a flip what New York likes, says Kappes, unless the city is New York, and furthermore, they understand that critics are playing a role in the artistic process, and that their role should not require the use of pom-poms and human pyramids.