The Hillbilly Today
Today’s Appalachian population is as diverse politically, religiously, and economically as any community. Those who left “hillbilly country” offer unique perspectives. Jessie Wall, a member of New York University’s nonpartisan Political Society, grew up in Appalachia. Wall says, “Sure, I have forty cousins, but their immense ideological and economic diversity taught me to be open minded. Yes, I spent Thanksgiving break splitting and stacking firewood for the winter, but I did so alongside a loving family who taught me how to work hard.” There are substantial troubles and controversial issues. Drug use is a significant problem. Wall recalls a neighbor drank himself to death. At 14, a relative told her a university education would waste her “motherly potential.” Even with these problems, J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, affirms Wall’s sense of community, saying, “Americans call them hillbillies, rednecks, or white trash. I call them neighbors, friends, and family.”