Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

by Arlie Russell Hochschild

Yet when people spoke indignantly of regulation, it was not abortion clinics and prisons that came to mind, but rather what the government was telling them to buy in stores. At a meeting of the Republican Women of Southwest Louisiana, across-the-table talk of regulation focused on the promotion of fluorescent or LED light bulbs: “The government has no right to regulate the light bulbs we buy,” one woman declared. “I made my husband change all my light bulbs back to the old ones.” Others complained of all the “forced” salads on the menus in fast food restaurants now. “I don’t need the government telling me what to eat,” one woman complained. “You remember that apron that says ‘If the cook ain’t fat, I ain’t eatin’ it?’” one woman asked to a round of happy laughter. Others were irritated by a local ban on driving on sidewalks, or on having more than one RV in your yard, and still others by child-protection devices. One woman recalled an age without child-proof lids on medicine bottles or car seat belts. “We let them throw lawn darts, smoked alongside them,” she said. “And they survived. Now it’s like your kid needs a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads to go down the kiddy slide.” Laughter rippled around the table.