練習英文寫作。
Hillbilly Elegy reached to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list in August 2016 and January 2017. It was published at the right timing: presidential election. The conservatives and republicans were promoting the book, saying this books describes the situation of working poor, the white people in poverty, and the underclass white people; who felt being neglected, thus were angry to America goverment. Trump’s victory in the election confirmed that the rusty belt area was neglected and was angry to Democract party. After the election, the confused liberals, who support Democrat party, were anxious to find out what was wrong, they tried to find the answer through many sources, including this book, Hillbilly Elegy. That’s the reason why the book reached to the best selling list again in January 2017.
But did it? Hillbilly Elegy is an inspiring story of a boy, grew up in Ohio, made his American dream come true. Poverty, drug/alchol addict, violence, and verbal abuse were J.D. (the author) family’s culture. With such background, J.D didn’t become one of the working poor, but was the first college student of his family, and later made to the elite class through education: he was graduated from Yale Law School.
In the earlier chapters he described how his family and whole neighborhood look themselves as an outsider of America, that they all felt they are not the main stream. Who was then？？ President Bill Clinton was once to be a hillbilly boy as well, grew up in Kentucky, with an abusive step father. But once he became the elite class through education，and later became the president, J.D. felt Clinton betrayed the underclass white people. And President Obama definitely was an insider to J.D, went to private school, fulfill the imaginations of J,D.’s family that only Black people can go to Ivy League (By the way, J.D was criticized because of his comments in the book to President Obama, saying that it’s racism. If you truly believe what he said about insider and outsider, I didn’t see him as racist).
And in the later chapter, after he made to Yale Law School, he shared so many thoughts that the elite class has their own rules for which a hillbilly boy never understood and was struggled to fit in. But once you stepped in, everything, such as job opportunities in famous firm, meeting with famous people, became so easy. As an immigrant, this was the part resonated with me the most. Yes, me too, we Chinese too! It was hard to fit into America’s culture, without knowing or understanding all the unwritten rules.
But do I feel J.D.’s book was for me? Absolutely not. It’s for America White. In the review of Amazon, you can see a lot of people said “I have similar experience, I was grew up in a black family…. J.D.’s book might not be for me, but we shared the same feeling….” He didn’t mention the race profile, but we, the Asian, and the Black, all knew this book is not for us.
As the same as he didn’t mention the racial profile, he didn’t mention Trump in the book either. And in an interview before the election J.D told the reporter, that he wouldn’t elect Trump, but a candidate from the third party. However, this didn’t stop Republican from promoting the book and developing J.D. as the next generation Republican leader.
Mainly because the book shared the same value with Republican, summarized below:
1. J.D. ’s grandmother was supporting Democratic Party, which in her mind always speaks for poor people. But within two generations, the situation changed. In an interview after the book was published J.D said that his childhood friends and families were voting for Trump, even though they believe Trump won’t do anything successfully， this was the first time someone speaks for them. So now Trump, or republican is speaking for working poor.
2. His grandmother said that “ so many people abuse the system, it is impossible for the hardworking people to get the help they need”. J.D also cited quite some examples, ex. “Our drug-addict neighbors would buy T-bone steaks, which I was too poor to buy for myself but was forced by Uncle Sam to buy for someone else”. This sounds familiar even for Chinese working class, that the working class was angry to America’s welfare system, that the working people need to work hard to support lazy people.
3. J.D said that poor people need to be responsible for their own situation for their poor decision, negative attitude, and lazy mindset. After all, nobody else dares to say these words, except someone like J.D., who made his success overcome “poor decision, negative attitude and lazy mindset”.
There were different voices for this book. A lady said that she was also growing out in a poor family in Ohio, with a single mother and 3 other siblings. She also graduated from Ohio State, and later from Yale Law school. She said “J.D.’s story doesn’t speak for me”. J.D blamed his families and friends were trapped into poverty because of their own fault, and he said “ we spent our way into poorhouse. We buy giant TV and iPads…..We purchase home that we don’t need…. ”. “ we chose not to work when we should be looking for jobs. “
She was asking “who were we?” “My family can’t afford giant TV. .. we were living at household of $6000 per year. “ I worked hard… the truth is that the people helped us out…the government helped us out….” Well, the attitude to poor people have reflected their choices for the political parties. She, who believes poor people need help, is running as a Democrat in the US House), And JD who thinks poor need to be responsible for themselves, is an official republican now. I had the same feeling with that lady: whom does J.D speaks for?
In the whole book, very little J.D mentioned about his family’s poverty. Instead, his grandpa were working for a big company. Although the job opportunity was vanished due to Japanese bought the company, they still have great benefits. His mother, who was not even graduated from high school, managed to be a nurse. His uncle and his aunt had an job. His mom brought some crazy men into their lives, but J.D. biological father has a job and a happy family. J.D’s pain was not because of poorness, but because of the broken family. Even when his grandparents were making good salary, the family was still not happy, full of violent wars between the grand parents. As a result of broken family, his mom couldn’t control her anger, and neglected the kids while they were grown up. J.D and his sister had to manage themselves as the mom was absent, and were also taken care by grandparents.
Even his uncle and his aunt, who grew up within the broken family as the same as his mom did, had a happy marriage and happy life. This made his story so personal. I just couldn’t buy it” Anyone wants to understand Trump’s rise and American’s inequality should read it”, said Bill Clinton’s former treasury secretary.I would like to find my own answer: what is the poor white’s true life?
The book “Coming Apart” (published in year of 2012) filled in and describe a much subjective view of America poor white with tons of data. This book strikes me, and I felt I am relieved to find the answer of Trump’s rise. I also feel relieved and not angry anymore, that everyone of us, made a contribution of Trump’s rise. It’s not the others’ fault. The book’s author is Charles Murray, who also authored the book “Bell Curve”. He was criticized badly for being politically incorrect in the book of “bell curve”.
In a summary, the book “Coming Apart” said:
1. America made a turn in the year of 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated ; when the sexual revolution started, when the human rights started; when Martin Luther King was fighting for black’s rights.
2. Since from 1963, America was divided into classes. The elite class was controlled by 5% or even less population, managers, engineers, journalists, and etc; who used brain power as the work force, and majority were graduated from ivy leagues colleges. The elite class was still following American’s principles, such as working hard, respect the family, follow the law, go to church, etc. However this class was so isolated in location (living in their own neighborhood), socially ( had totally different entertainment); and psychologically (having their own life style), that they live in a bubble without empathy and compassion to the under class. This aligns with Hillbilly Elegy that the author made to the elite class through education and found out they have a different living style.
3. The underclass people had the dramatic change, and their American dreams were falling apart: that men don’t work any more, don’t go to church, don’t follow the law, and don’t respect the family value, leaving kids grew up without father. This also aligns with the poor white in Hillbilly Elegy.
4. America has enough jobs. If you worked the job as a truck drive, which doesn’t need college diploma, then you will live above the poverty line. The question is not about creating job, but about to create the motivation to work. Yes, aligns with Hillbilly Elegy. I would also like to point out that in both books, the authors didn’t blame Globalization for taking the job opportunities away from American. J.D. ’s grandpa’s compony was bought by Japanese, grandpa said “ now the government wants us to be friends with Japanese.” So they don’t hate Japanese, but did blame Chinese, which was weird logic.
Charles Murray used a lot of data in 1963 and 2010 to show the changes. He also blamed the welfare system make it worse. Charles Murray had a passion about IQ, and he had a lot of data to compare the IQ between two classes, between the Ivy League and normal colleges, etc.
If it’s only about IQ, it was simple. In September 2017, we shared a story among Chinese community: a Stanford professor said that China is in danger because of the kids grow up in the rural area, whose IQ is lower than the kids grow up in the city, who couldn’t finish the education needed for the future. He is helping China to change this situation by providing the kids of rural area with Vitamin, with better nutrition; and also training the mothers to educate the kids at an earlier age through better communication. All of these efforts shall help with improving the IQ and equipped China with high-quality working force to meet future’s demand.
The situation in China’s rural area is very similar to what had happened to the America poor white people, or to any bad neighborhood in America. To a lot of American, they don’t know that the crisis of China is that for the kids grew up in the rural area, their families were broken too. The parents left the rural area to work in the city to make more money, leaving millions kids behind, who grew up either like an orphan, or just with grand parents. So the kids in CHina’s rural area, or in America’s bad neighborhood are facing the same situation that the parents didn’t take their responsibility anymore. It can be imagined without parents as the role model, the kids will generate millions of broken families, and it will become inherits. This the reason why the kids are failing in education, and showed lower IQ.
In September 2017, there is another news, that Hook worm was burst into the state of Alabama. This disease was only happened in Africa, due to contaminated water source. Now in Alabama , and of course in the poor community of African American, the disease is even worse than in Africa. Bill Gates Foundation spend a lot of money on reducing this disease in Africa, and they won’t spend the money in America only because they don’ t know this happens in America as well. While the governor in Alabama was Jeff Session, a republican serving in Trump’s chamber as Attorney Deputy, should be responsible for this situation. And this is not something that you can ask the poor people to be responsible for their own fate. Republican is definitely a joke for poor people. However, it also happened during Democratic Party in the White House, when our president was supporting “black lives matter”. This was the situation that Black Lives matter, but how come both parties didn’t do anything for America’s poor people.
In both books, the authors didn’t give an answer how to resolve a failing America.
Charles Murray was invited to give many talks, after Trump’s election. He gave his answer in those talks: the elite class need to reach out and help the underclass people out. And J.D. seems are doing exactly what he is suggesting. J.D. moved back to Ohio in 2017, as he wanted to do something for his people. Will he become another Bill Clinton, who betrayed the underclass after he became the elite? Right now, the answer is “no”. And the Stanford professor, who was working on a project in China, seems to be another way that elite class is helping the under class people.
All the help need to address family value, need to show the people how to raise the kids with a stable, warm family, which encourages them to take more education and work hard. It was interesting to find out how Asian culture eventually impacted him: his mentor in Yale is Amy Chua, the author of “Tiger Mom”. And he married an Indian girl. Will Asian culture, which promotes the culture of working hard, be an cure?
