Guns, votes, debt, and delusion in redneck America
by Joe Bageant
Review by Brian Wright

Not for the faint of heart or addled of brain; a redneck native son returns to his roots after years seeking out the American Dream—and at least finding a means of sustenance that gratifies him. Bageant is not a ‘liberal’ in the sense of, say, a quiche-eating, latte-sipping, urban townhouse-dwelling, suit-and-tie-wearing promoter of indiscriminate government spending for ‘those in need.’ In fact, such are a goodly part of his intended audience. He nonetheless manifests a genuine concern for ‘the other’ and an awareness of the engines of ignorance and vulture capitalism that tend to grind these many others of the redneck persuasion into fine dust. Right here in the good ol’ US of A, yup. Trick is: they’ve been brainwashed into liking it. Continue reading →