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    Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild Summary

    Strangers in Their Own Land
    Arlie Russell Hochschild
    4.12 (17631 Reviews)
    PoliticsSocietyPsychology
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    Overview of Strangers in Their Own Land

    Dive into the emotional landscape of America's deepening divide. Hochschild's National Book Award finalist - endorsed by Noam Chomsky and David Brooks - reveals why Trump voters feel like "strangers in their own land," offering a bridge across our most unbridgeable political canyon.

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    People make political choices based on their "deep story"-a subjective feeling about how the world works.

    ”
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    Why would people who suffer most from industrial pollution vote against environmental regulations designed to protect them? This question drove sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild to spend five years immersed in Louisiana's bayou country, listening to the stories of Tea Party supporters whose communities bear the toxic burden of America's petrochemical industry. What she discovered wasn't a simple case of people voting against their interests, but a complex emotional landscape where identity, honor, and belonging trump material concerns. Louisiana presents the perfect laboratory for this investigation-a state ranking near the bottom in health outcomes, education, and environmental quality, yet increasingly voting for politicians who oppose federal assistance and environmental regulation. Through intimate conversations with people like Mike Schaff, who lost his home to an industrial disaster yet opposes government oversight, Hochschild uncovers how emotional self-interest often outweighs economic self-interest in shaping political views. The divide runs deeper than policy disagreements. By 2010, 40% of Republicans and 33% of Democrats reported they'd be disturbed if their child married someone from the opposite political party-up from just 5% in 1960. We've built invisible "empathy walls" that prevent understanding across political lines. Breaking through these barriers requires temporarily setting aside our own perspectives to see the world through others' eyes.

    2

    The Toxic Paradox: When Victims Defend Their Polluters

    3

    Mourning a Lost Paradise: The Rememberers

    4

    The Deep Story: Waiting in Line for the American Dream

    5

    The Honor Squeeze: When Identity Trumps Self-Interest

    6

    The Sacrifice Zone: Religion, Renunciation and Reward

    7

    Bridging America's Divide: Finding Common Ground