I grew up in rural, small-town America -- I can tell you the real reason why people love Donald Trump

[Boomer]

108. It's difficult to get in the mindset of people who don't know things we take for granted

I was always extremely cognizant that my way in life had been eased by (ironically enough) my Hispanic grandparents, who were well-todo, professional class Mexicans with a solid education and a lifetime of travel across Mexico, Canada and the U.S. They paid for my college education, among other financial support for my mother. In contrast, my half-sister, my father's daughter, was raised by Texas rednecks and worked in a factory all her life. She was widowed early, with three kids, and those deprivations easily explain why her children are so drawn to the prosperity Gospel that I absolutely loathe.

On the few visits I had with my sister and her children, I tried my best not to draw attention to myself, but it was impossible to erase who I was. They were all too aware of my accomplishments because my father (their grandfather) would brag about them (god, that made me cringe). I also had to really watch my facial reactions, because it seemed like every other minute their casual conversation would reveal gaping holes in their worldview. They knew I lived in New York City, but they got confused because New York was also a state, wasn't it? They knew I had published a book, so I suspect they thought I was rich; that most writers make very little money at all would have surprised them. They made no distinction between the pop culture book I wrote and a great American novel -- to them they were all the same thing.

So much knowledge that I took for granted as just the basics of living in a modern, industrialized society, they didn't have. On an individual level, it wasn't going to make their lives any better; on a collective level, however, we're all the worse for their poverty of mind.