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tanyarobinson 's review for:
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
by Arlie Russell Hochschild
This was a really interesting book to read as we're waiting for the 2020 Presidential Election results. Arlie Russell Hochschild is a Berkeley sociology professor - a political progressive - with an important objective. Over the course of 5 years she spent a great deal of time interviewing and observing Louisiana Tea Party members, trying to "look over the empathy wall" and truly understand their political feelings. She chose Louisiana because it's a "red" bastion, despite being one of the poorest, most unhealthy, and most polluted states. Intellectually, it would seem that liberal government with its social programs and environmental protections would be beneficial for Louisianans, yet most residents are avidly anti-big government and pro-oil. Hochschild's mission was to try to understand this contradiction, what she calls the "Great Paradox."
She first looks for her answers in the economy and at the state governmental level, but soon decides "more jobs" in the oil industry is not a sufficient reason for so many of Louisiana's blue collar workers to vote Republican. She finally settles on the emotional appeal of the traditional party. She speaks of "the profound importance of emotional self-interest - a giddy release from the feeling of being a stranger in one's own land." Southern white Christians, particularly men, have felt left behind by the changing culture of America, and condemned for their more traditional views of morality. They feel that minorities are "cutting in line" in front of them as they queue for the "American Dream" that has not come for them as wages stagnate and and more and more is given to people who aren't willing to work as hard as they do. They feel judged and labeled by liberals as selfish, stupid, rednecks. Yet they find satisfaction and honor in their strong communities, charitable churches, and the courage of their own convictions.
These people were so ready for Trump to come along. Hochschild writes:
What I take away from Strangers in their Own Land is that the people of Louisiana, and by extension all those who support the Tea Party and Donald Trump, don't vote based on economic self-interest. They support the party that gives them dignity, that says they are good, that they are noble to protect America from the changes that are so frightening and threatening to their way of life. They reject the party that tells them they are culturally backward, intellectually wrong, and must change. It makes sense, emotionally.
I liked that Hochschild approached her questions not just with curiosity, but compassion. She developed real friendships with her interview subjects, and though she found holes in their arguments, she did not debase them or criticize their thinking. She wasn't out to change views, but to truly see over that "empathy wall." I feel like reading this book has helped me do the same. 4 stars.
She first looks for her answers in the economy and at the state governmental level, but soon decides "more jobs" in the oil industry is not a sufficient reason for so many of Louisiana's blue collar workers to vote Republican. She finally settles on the emotional appeal of the traditional party. She speaks of "the profound importance of emotional self-interest - a giddy release from the feeling of being a stranger in one's own land." Southern white Christians, particularly men, have felt left behind by the changing culture of America, and condemned for their more traditional views of morality. They feel that minorities are "cutting in line" in front of them as they queue for the "American Dream" that has not come for them as wages stagnate and and more and more is given to people who aren't willing to work as hard as they do. They feel judged and labeled by liberals as selfish, stupid, rednecks. Yet they find satisfaction and honor in their strong communities, charitable churches, and the courage of their own convictions.
These people were so ready for Trump to come along. Hochschild writes:
The real function of the excited gathering around Donald Trump is to unify all the white, evangelical enthusiasts who fear that those "cutting ahead in line" are about to become a terrible, strange, new America. The source of the awe and excitement isn't simply Trump himself; it is the unity of the great crowd of strangers gathered around him. If the rally itself could speak, it would say, "We are a majority!" Added to that is a potent promise--to be lifted up from bitterness, despair, depression. The "movement," as Trump has increasingly called his campaign, acts as a great antidepressant. Like other leaders promising rescue, Trump evokes a moral consciousness. But what he gives participants, emotionally speaking, is an ecstatic high.
What I take away from Strangers in their Own Land is that the people of Louisiana, and by extension all those who support the Tea Party and Donald Trump, don't vote based on economic self-interest. They support the party that gives them dignity, that says they are good, that they are noble to protect America from the changes that are so frightening and threatening to their way of life. They reject the party that tells them they are culturally backward, intellectually wrong, and must change. It makes sense, emotionally.
I liked that Hochschild approached her questions not just with curiosity, but compassion. She developed real friendships with her interview subjects, and though she found holes in their arguments, she did not debase them or criticize their thinking. She wasn't out to change views, but to truly see over that "empathy wall." I feel like reading this book has helped me do the same. 4 stars.