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Deer Hunting With Jesus

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"Deer Hunting with Jesus" is Joe Bageant's account of returning to his hometown of Winchester, Virginia, after leaving many years prior. D.H.W.J. is a quick and easy read that notes several things many readers can relate to across the US. In addition to the attitudes Bageant observes, is one pertinent point: Bageant left, but the others in his hometown, stayed. Therein lies the issue.

In this book, there are many cultural elements of contemporary America. Bageant peppers this book with personal anecdotes, statistics, and polling data to aid his observations. The author is witty and makes the read enjoyable. This isn't about one man (the author) and one community (Winchester), but about many commonalities of the different regions of contemporary US society. Belief systems shaped by mainstream media, Dominionist Christian attitudes of superiority, and readily accepted Neo-Con foreign policy beliefs by those who work, live, and occupy bar stools at the "Royal."

At times there is a generic partisan theme that refers to "Democrats" and "Republicans," and as a non-partisan I didn't buy into it, mostly because both parties are more similar than different and only represent the PACs, Lobbies, and Special Interests. But the author is correct in the split-personality voting behavior by these people who support clearly, the party that is most harmful to their interests. Bageant aptly notes this strange phenomenon of the neglected working-class who vote against their economic well-being, and he notes the reasons why. Those of us that follow American political culture, are aware of the reasons for this.

The book also accurately focuses on the growing under-class of America: Not the under-class in the Inner Cities but the working class of the rural and semi-rural regions of the USA that have slipped down more than a few notches and are paying a significant price in a lack of health care, education, and gainful employment. These people are subtly (and oft-times not so subtly) aware that they actually are slipping down the economic ladder - but they don't know the reasons why.

While reading "Deer Hunting With Jesus" I (and I assume many readers) could picture many of the characters described by Bageant. This is because I know people like this in my hometown 3,000 miles to the west, of Winchester, VA.

Some of the attitudes and biographical anecdotes by the real-life characters in this book are that people sincerely believe that by following the "work hard" and "play by the rules" game they "deserve" a big house, new car, cookie-cutter 2-week vacation, and financial independence as they grow older. For millions of Americans, this not the case. And it isn't only about the working class, but the middle and upper-classes today.

The material reward from "working hard" is no longer the case for most in the US. This trend started in earnest in 1970. Bageant notes that his cohorts didn't figure this out. Why have so many people not recognized this trend? Possibly because this information is not often available in the Mainstream Media in the US. More likely, because people are not curious enough to get this information, which is readily available.

More biographical overviews from the author that seem very common in the US is noted here: "My people don't cite real facts. They recite what they have absorbed from the atmosphere. Theirs is an intellectual life consisting of things that sound right, a blend of modern folk wisdom cliche, talk radio and Christian radio babble" (Page 65).

As for the comments about these hometown folks: one need not be intellectual. Not at all. Bageant knows this. One only needs to be curious, in my opinion. It's certainly not necessary to be an "intellectual" to discuss certain topics of the world and current events over a cup of coffee or bottle of beer. But people should be able to critically think to the degree where they can recognize bias, weazel words, spin, over-simplification, and over-generalization. We all have our own biases and preferences, and many of our own opinions are not always essentially our own. We have to get our information from somewhere. However the point is, many people simply regurgitate what they hear and see (and occasionally read). Much of this info regurgitated are from soundbites. Many people cannot even paraphrase.

In sum, many people are dumb. Not to sound arrogant or condescending but this is the perception. This dumbness is not because of genetics, but because of mental laziness, and not seeking objective sources that go into at least some amount of depth. If people want to make rhetorical statements and debate people (and often be loud) they should do some research. Do some homework.

As for Winchester and other areas of the US, I generally, find people in urban areas to be more sophisticated than those in rural regions. Again, nothing to do with intelligence.

Here is another excerpt from this book that I often observe in my hometown:

"Getting a lousy education, then spending a lifetime pitted against your fellow worker in the gladiatorial theater of the free market economy does not make for optimist or open-mindedness.....It makes for a kind of bleak coarseness and inner degradation that allows working people to accept the American empire's wart without a blink" (page 71).

I have specifically witnessed this, and still do in the United States.

People think political situations can be resolved by violence.

"it is not uncommon to hear someone talk about the Middle Est or some Asian or European country 'gettin out of line' and 'needing to be put in its place.' .....people who believe we should bomb France (though I doubt many of them could find it on the map" (page 71).

One chapter notes Lynddie England and appropriately asked how did her and people like her come to (falsely) define the American national ethos?

A fair question.


Written in 2007, DHWJ notes many of the elements that were issues in the 2008 National election that came a year after the publishing this book.

Health care, Abu Grahib, Oil dependency, Sub-prime mortgage industry and the racket of mortgage loans, CDOs, Neo-Conservatism, and the Mainstream Media. The religious influence of Reconstructionist, Dominionist, and Fundamentalist Christian elements that permeate attitudes (more than behavior).

But it's not mostly about about the town of Winchester, concepts, or "things." The most notable element is, the people --> Their attitudes and beliefs.


Chapters: Put in this review because of their pithy and self-explanatory titles.

1. American Serfs
2. Republicans by Default
3. The Deep-Fried, Double Wide Lifestyle
4. Valley of the Sun
5. The Covert Kingdom
6. The Ballad of Lynddie England
7. An Authorized Place to Die
8. American Hologram

"Deer Hunting with Jesus" is a great book by by Joe Bageant.

"Dear Hunting with Jesus: Guns, Votes, Debt and Delusion in Redneck America" is in my opinion a first rate piece of civic journalism and will be read for many years as a profound exposé on American politics and class.

"Dear Hunting..." goes further than historian Thomas Frank's brilliant book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?", in answering the (to many) vexing question of what the heck is going on with American white working class politics.

The insights contained in Joe Bageant's book go so deep in part because the author has such deep roots in the culture of Appalachia where he was born and raised. He really knows these folks you'll meet in his book. He saw the world with the Navy, moved around America and read lots of books, then eventually went back to Virgina. After seeing all that he had seen he knew had something to say, and he had to say it. A fine tag for Mr. Bageant I came across was "the Sartre of Appalachia". I like that. He is in possession of a formidable intellect and is a compassionate man. Don't let anybody say this is one of those liberal snobs! See, it is actually those liberals that he is really trying to reach -those Democrats and liberals that seem to have forgotten the white working class and left them to be corrupted further by talk radio and Fox News (or at least the ones that even have energy and time to pay attention to the media anymore).

Fans of Thomas Frank, Barbara Ehrenreich, Studs Terkel and Howard Zinn, to name a few writers, will probably love Joe Bageant if they don't already.

Anybody with an interest in American society and politics should check out this book. I believe you'll be a wiser and probably more compassionate citizen. Don't take my word for tho. You can also read some excellent essays at the author's website, Joe Bageant dot com. I mention this because that's how I discovered him.


(EDIT: My title came from the realization that the day I wrote this is "Labor Day" in America, but there isn't much to be happy about. And actually we should all take to the streets and demand single-payer health care and a living wage for all! Right now. Let's do it. By the way, Obama needs our help to bring us all that "change" and "hope" he promised.)

This is an extremely important book that is long overdue. It addresses issues that typical progressives are either embarassed by, choose to overlook, or are simply not exposed to. This book has great potential to bring a wider, more compassionate, and more inclusive perspective to those of us who hunger for real change, but are too often caught up in our narrow point of view.

Great book. Critical and accessible to all honest people. Working-class folks and the so-called professional middle-classes--especially those considering themselves "liberals"--should read it. It is about "false consciousness"--how peoples' ideas do not correspond to either their own interests or to those of the collectivity.
Here is a book intelligible to people in general but cannot be understood by people like Wm. Clinton or B. Obama--unless, of course, they are so cynical they don't care, which could be the case.
Joe Bageant is an excellent writer of great intelligence and common sense. His analysis works on every level, and it's funny. He likes people, but doesn't let them off the hook.

The book is excellent, because described the real world in small towns. I am living in small town, I am professional, but people behavior is like the author described in his book.

Book provided a great insight into the "thinking" of the group being portrayed. It illustrates that even though change might be positive, many are afraid to amke the change.

I'm about 4 or 5 yrs older than the author, so I and my working class peers missed out out on college pell grants, easy loans, etc that he says made things easy for poor college students in the 60's. In very early 1960's, unless you were a very gifted scholar, you had no access to college funds unless you had a financially qualified sponsor to co-sign a note. For working class kids (including myself), attending college meant working part or full time, living at home, no fraternities, and no car ownership. Or, joining the armed forces to get assistance, which many did. Since we needed to pay in advance for classes, we didn't incur huge college debts as is often the case now.
Having some "Ulster Scots" inheritance, I felt the author was somewhat harsh in his assessment of the culture and mores of this group. Yeah, we've had some nut cases, but also some fine, bright and brave folks. Think of Senator Jim Webb, for one.
Enough criticism. It's a good, easy read. Liked his treatment of the gun culture, which was close to my own experiences.He's spot on concerning the present economic situation!