Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

by Beth Macy

How do you inspire hope in a middle-school boy whose goal in life is to become a “draw-er,” like his parents before him and their parents before them? Did a president who bragged about winning a swing state—telling the president of Mexico, “I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den”—win because voters genuinely thought he could fix it, or because too many people were too numbed out to vote? Voters should judge politicians at all levels on the literal health of their communities, lawyer Bryan Stevenson explained. And while most Americans support federal financing of health care and even a slim majority approves of single-payer, those reforms will likely remain political nonstarters until more voters begin defining themselves in contrast to the billionaire class holding sway in Washington. Also needed are more efforts to court nonwhite voters, including Hispanics (of whom 74 percent are currently registered to vote), African Americans (69 percent), and Asian Americans (57 percent).