Hillbilly Elegy

The list goes on. It’s impossible to
know how many people believe one or
many of these stories. But if a third of
our community questions the president’s
origin—despite all evidence to the
contrary—it’s a good bet that the other
conspiracies have broader currency than
we’d like. This isn’t some libertarian
mistrust of government policy, which is
healthy in any democracy. This is deep
skepticism of the very institutions of our
society. And it’s becoming more and
more mainstream.
We can’t trust the evening news. We
can’t trust our politicians. Our
universities, the gateway to a better life,
are rigged against us. We can’t get jobs.