The Left Behind: Decline and Rage in Small-Town America

I wish I could give 4.5 stars...TL;DR: Relatively unbiased look at rural America in 2022 and what drives the thoughts and political actions of rural Americans.Detail: Living as I do 1/2-time in an extremely rural county in WV, I'm interested in, and have read several books about, what's driving the anger and support for extreme political candidates among my neighbors. Too many books pretend to do research while really their true research question is "what's wrong with these hillbillies?" Wuthnow is the best I've seen at asking research questions and then being quiet to listen. He uncovers that the situation driving rural voters is their love of their small communities, and their fear that their towns and values are disappearing.While the author tries his best to not let his "liberal elite" views color his results, he admits that it's impossible for any human researcher to be completely unbiased. And towards the end of the book, these views do, indeed, creep in. His brief sections on racism and misogyny are taken straight from the current woke playbook. That said, the book is definitely worth your time, and I highly recommend it.

The 2016 election brought to the forefront a long simmering anger in rural America. Unfortunately, most of the analysis of that underlying rage has been overly simplistic and dismissive. This is an exception to that trend. This is one of the few pieces I’ve read that doesn’t summarily dismiss the point of view of rural America as bigoted and uneducated. I highly recommend this book especially for those liberals (like myself) who have struggled to understand the rationale that lead so many of our fellow citizens to vote for a demagogue. By the end of the book, while I vehemently disagree with the end results, I can honestly say that I better comprehend the fundamental issues at play. If there is to be a way forward collectively beyond the ultra-partisan divide, surely it must begin with a better understanding of the core issues that are dividing us. This book is a useful tool towards a better understanding.

If you are like me, you might know how these things happened and can comprehend the feeling of the left behind. Even though I escaped a long time ago, it’s still hard to know whether to look on those who didn’t leave as unintelligent, incapable, or heroes.

This is a nice book that draws on interviews and polling of small town residents to paint a picture of their views of hot button issues--abortion, gays, morality, and bigotry among other topics. It is well written, engaging and somewhat thought-provoking, but I found that most of the reported attitudes and perspectives were not surprising. I think most of us already knew that attitudes about gays and immigrants, for instance, are a reflection of both some degree of group opinions forged in church services and personal experience with people or relatives in their communities. Hard line positions come with lack of knowing people who are practicing Muslims, for instance, or the unwillingness of neighbors to openly admit that they have had an abortion or see value in State-sponsored support networks. Small towns breed a bit of conformity that is seen in conservative politics. As others have noted, the author sort of dumps the reader at the end, without summing up how those of us on the political left might approach the obvious rural-urban divide that has grown in the US and other countries. There is little analysis of the attitudes that are expressed by the people interviewed. The author tries to be open-minded about the perspectives of small town residents (and mostly succeeds) but one is left with the feeling that the big issues are the uniformity of thinking that comes with trying to get along with neighbors, the central role of churches with conservative politics that shape the majority opinion that residents are expected to hold, and a desire to avoid controversies that will split the community. My son, for instance, visited his then-girlfriend in small town Missouri, and reported later that the family went out of its way to change the subject every time some controversial topic came up. The family also was not interested in seeking information through the web that might answer basic questions that came up around the dinner table. There are no solutions here.....

A better, smarter book than Hillbilly Elegy. Although, as the author has pointed out, the population he writes about can be more accurately described as those who refused to keep up. "Left Behind" implies being victims of external forces, when much of the anger is driven by a changing world and manipulation by provocateurs. Great sociology like this is painstaking, but ultimately full of insights that made me sad.

Not a real page turner, but fairly presented through a series of interviews with rural voters. It’s striking that his view of rural voters as not a solid voting block as I imagined. I wonder if the predominant industry in the area & lack of internet connection shapes the views as much as pure small town location.I grew up in small town rural America & believe the lack of local newspapers, avoidance of mainstream news reporting & basically tuning out any source that contradicts the person’s worldview is dangerous for these communities. Why? Because when the whole Democracy thing falls apart they will not be mentally or financially prepared to survive. It’s noted that there are minorities, LBGTQ persons, and non traditional religious people living in these communities that are generally accepted. My experience is that racism applies to others who aren’t second or third generation locals, if that makes any sense. For example, there were many families in my hometown area that “passed as white Christian” even though I know now they were clearly mixed race.Mistrust of the Government is prevalent yet there is small acknowledgement of what would replace it if it no longer existed. Apparently the conversations never get to that.