I've begun following George Saunders' Substack and it's a weekly dose of lucid, articulate compassion for students of writing that I always look forward to, even if the advice for toiling fiction writers isn't strictly relevant to me. Recently he linked to his article from 2016 when he went out into the field to try to understand the political phenomenon that had gripped the country and that amazingly has yet to let go. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/11/george-saunders-goes-to-trump-rallies

Reading his reporting about the subject was like swallowing an antidote for the poison I've been ingesting for the last 7 or 8 years. It's all still shockingly relevant two presidential election cycles later, from the twisted logic of supporters to the toxic vitriol so casually spewed from the mouths of seemingly decent citizens. Saunders approaches his topic the way he does all his subjects - by giving everyone involved the most generous benefit of the doubt, no matter how egregious the behavior on display. If he comes across a person acting a certain way - no matter how poorly - Saunders tends to assume that someone or something has led to this. He asks questions that offer some insights then sees any progress he seems to make immediately thwarted. He provides some rationale into some of the actions that seems baffling to those of us who can't believe what happened and what keeps happening, but never at the expense of nuance and complexity. People are complicated and contradictory and motives are messy. Saunders will never cheat you or himself to come to a conclusion that's neat and tidy. It's the kind of reporting that is increasingly rare (if nonexistent) in media, which in a way is a subtext of the piece - frustrated men and women who feel powerless on the outskirts of decision-making being led down blind alleys of rage by those pushing simplistic narratives. I came away from the piece reassured. Not by the picture painted of a fragile republic careening towards potential disaster, but by the fact there are still voices that can make a convincing case for approaching conflict and difference with such measured thoughtfulness.