Hillbilly Elegy

particularly angry. My desire to fight
arose more out of a sense of duty. But it
was a strong sense of duty, so Mom and I
went to Mamaw’s for the night.
I remember watching an episode of
The West Wing about education in
America, which the majority of people
rightfully believe is the key to
opportunity. In it, the fictional president
debates whether he should push school
vouchers (giving public money to
schoolchildren so that they escape
failing public schools) or instead focus
exclusively on fixing those same failing
schools. That debate is important, of
course—for a long time, much of my
failing school district qualified for