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

by Arlie Russell Hochschild

“We vote for candidates that put the Bible where it belongs,” Harold adds. “We try to be right-living, clean-living people, and we’d like our leaders to live that way and believe in that, too.” Before settling on Romney in the 2012 election, they had favored the former senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum. The Arenos disapprove of “greedy corporations” stepping on the little guy. “Oil interests tried to suppress the development of the electric car,” Annette adds. Agreeing, Harold says: “Republicans stand for big business. They won’t help us with the problems we’ve got here.” But Republicans put God and family on their side and “we like that. The Scripture says Jesus wants us to be about his Father’s business,” Annette says. Their faith had guided them through a painful loss of family, friends, neighbors, frogs, turtles, and trees. They felt God had blessed them with this courage to face their ordeals, and they thanked Him for that. “I don’t know what people do if they don’t know Him,” Annette adds. For the Arenos, religious faith has moved into the very cultural space in which politics might have played a vital, independent role. Politics hadn’t helped, they felt, and the Bible surely had.