Derek Thompson

She wrote a great book called Strangers Who Own Land. And she just wrote another one. I think it was Stolen Valor, I think is what it's called. And I was emailing with her for this essay. And her comments did not make it into the final draft. But I'll tell you this right now.

She wrote a great book called Strangers Who Own Land. And she just wrote another one. I think it was Stolen Valor, I think is what it's called. And I was emailing with her for this essay. And her comments did not make it into the final draft. But I'll tell you this right now.

She wrote a great book called Strangers Who Own Land. And she just wrote another one. I think it was Stolen Valor, I think is what it's called. And I was emailing with her for this essay. And her comments did not make it into the final draft. But I'll tell you this right now.

She said that in a lot of the homes, a lot of the mobile homes that she was visiting in these deep red areas in rural Kentucky, a couple of things were true. Number one, the largest piece of furniture was the television set. People were spending a ton of time in front of Fox News. and they were spending less time outside of their homes.

She said that in a lot of the homes, a lot of the mobile homes that she was visiting in these deep red areas in rural Kentucky, a couple of things were true. Number one, the largest piece of furniture was the television set. People were spending a ton of time in front of Fox News. and they were spending less time outside of their homes.

She said that in a lot of the homes, a lot of the mobile homes that she was visiting in these deep red areas in rural Kentucky, a couple of things were true. Number one, the largest piece of furniture was the television set. People were spending a ton of time in front of Fox News. and they were spending less time outside of their homes.

And that had an interesting effect, where among this group, one of the most important issues to them was fears of migrants. But if you look at census data, one of the areas with the lowest share of immigrants in America is rural Kentucky. So people living in villages or villages, people living in cities and rural towns,

And that had an interesting effect, where among this group, one of the most important issues to them was fears of migrants. But if you look at census data, one of the areas with the lowest share of immigrants in America is rural Kentucky. So people living in villages or villages, people living in cities and rural towns,

And that had an interesting effect, where among this group, one of the most important issues to them was fears of migrants. But if you look at census data, one of the areas with the lowest share of immigrants in America is rural Kentucky. So people living in villages or villages, people living in cities and rural towns,

that had the lowest share of immigrants thought that the most important problem facing this country was immigration. That to me is at least a suggestive sign of a world where people aren't prioritizing the issues in their so-called village, that middle ring, because the middle ring is atrophied. What they're prioritizing is the outer ring of tribe.

that had the lowest share of immigrants thought that the most important problem facing this country was immigration. That to me is at least a suggestive sign of a world where people aren't prioritizing the issues in their so-called village, that middle ring, because the middle ring is atrophied. What they're prioritizing is the outer ring of tribe.

that had the lowest share of immigrants thought that the most important problem facing this country was immigration. That to me is at least a suggestive sign of a world where people aren't prioritizing the issues in their so-called village, that middle ring, because the middle ring is atrophied. What they're prioritizing is the outer ring of tribe.

The national political becomes the local story, right? The classic, you know, All politics is local? No. All politics is focal. All politics is whatever Fox News or Ben Shapiro or whatever can get you to pay attention to that is a national storyline. That's politics today in the age of the internet.

The national political becomes the local story, right? The classic, you know, All politics is local? No. All politics is focal. All politics is whatever Fox News or Ben Shapiro or whatever can get you to pay attention to that is a national storyline. That's politics today in the age of the internet.

The national political becomes the local story, right? The classic, you know, All politics is local? No. All politics is focal. All politics is whatever Fox News or Ben Shapiro or whatever can get you to pay attention to that is a national storyline. That's politics today in the age of the internet.

The other point that I want to make, and you on-ramped me to this, is that there's a Danish political scientist named Michael Bank-Peterson. who's found that among people who are socially isolated, they tend to become more nihilistic, and they adopt a political attitude that he calls the need for chaos.

The other point that I want to make, and you on-ramped me to this, is that there's a Danish political scientist named Michael Bank-Peterson. who's found that among people who are socially isolated, they tend to become more nihilistic, and they adopt a political attitude that he calls the need for chaos.

The other point that I want to make, and you on-ramped me to this, is that there's a Danish political scientist named Michael Bank-Peterson. who's found that among people who are socially isolated, they tend to become more nihilistic, and they adopt a political attitude that he calls the need for chaos.

These are people who have lost faith in the political process entirely, and they're disconnected from the knotty and complex politics politics and processes of the world around them.

These are people who have lost faith in the political process entirely, and they're disconnected from the knotty and complex politics politics and processes of the world around them.