First, kudos to Ms. Hochschild for painstaking effort to peel back the onion of the deep division on this country. She maintained a neutral, unbiased position, patiently took all the time needed and listened deeply to the people she spent time with. She also poured over mountains of research which is documented in the many appendices, endnotes and bibliography well documented in the last 90 pages of the book. I learned so much, but I also finished reading the book feeling a little less hopeful than when I started.
Ms. Hochschild, a sociology professor, applied her skills to learn about the behaviors and beliefs of those who identify with conservative values that for many on the left find mystifying. She details and defines why she choose an area in Louisiana to conduct her research, spent over 5 years basically living with the people there and came away with a rich understanding of the fabric of their lives. By focusing on what she refers to as an empathy wall, she was able to honestly understand the world these folks live in, what they believe and how they came to believe it (hint: it goes way, way back). In the end, those on the right and those on the left ultimately want the same things in life; meaningful work, strong family and a place to call their own. How we get there and how we see ourselves in our communities and country, well, that's the difference, a very big difference.
I'm still baffled by some of the pretzel logic of how so many believe the big petro chemical companies, who are wantonly polluting the world these folks so dearly love, are not at fault - they place blame squarely on the EPA. This is the same EPA these folks are cheering for Trump to slam shut.The idea that is one has a decent job, they won't need government assistance, and if you don't need government assistance, you don't need government. But they have it completely backwards with respect to the role of business and government; they believe business is looking out for their health and well-being and that government is there just to make a buck. And the notion that one has to choose between jobs and the environment made my heart sink. I'm not sure they realize the government is us, all of us, no "them" and despite their government selling them completely out to big business and getting much much more than a negative return, they still believe the charity of big business. Incredible. And to add to it, there is clearly a direct relationship between the level of distrust of government has and level of government benefits one receives.
I spent some of my youth in the Midwest and when we visit family there, the one thing that always sticks out for me is the general lack of education. After reading this book, I can see why so many on the right refer to education as a "liberal" thing. And I think so many on the right believe hard, physical work is the gold standard for character because honestly it's a lot easier than doing the mental work of learning. Everyday I thank my mom for moving us out of that stifling existence; I shutter to think what our lives might be had she stayed.
One huge takeaway from the book for me is even greater appreciation for importance of government policy, and how it can destroy or enhance the lives of its citizens. I believe there are plenty examples of where putting priority on the environment did not cost jobs, but to the contrary, added jobs (think California vs. Louisiana). In light of the sweeping rollbacks of environmental policies, Louisiana is a microcosm of the gargantuan environmental disaster our nation could very easily look like if we continue and insist on remaking our democracy into a "corporate-acracy" our nation's "leaders" are hell-bent on pursuing.
I believe in the author's proof that scaling the empathy wall will lead to more understanding, trust and eventually the ability to cooperate together but for this valiant effort to really work, we all have to be willing. In reading this book it seemed the people the author met with seemed quite happy for her do the work of climbing up and over the wall. It didn't appear that anyone even thought about maybe they should be willing to do the same.
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Reviews with images
“New” book came in terrible condition
This book came loosely wrapped in plastic and has obviously seen hard times. So much for buying new.
Top reviews from other countries
Leandro Garcia
A summary of our current situation
Reviewed in Brazil on August 27, 2021
David Beeson
Hochschild's illuminating views from beyond a well-scaled empathy wall
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2017