Here's a food for thought
"Children of the Corn", which was first published in March 1977, was a horrifying description of a remote farm in Nebraska. A couple accidentally found their way in this forgotten part of America, unaware that undocumented kids have been living there for some time. They seemed to be the survivors of another drought, which left them without any adult to guide them. And the older ones thought about connecting with the pagan gods. Stephen King wasn't channeling his inner William Golding, as this short story had similarities with "Salem's Lot". The King of Horror was describing rural America, but not all readers may be aware of it.
The majority of inhabitants in the rural areas of the United States cast their vote on Donald Trump, which exposed a great divide in American society. Not a few were shocked about it. (And let's not assume that they were liberals who have been sitting on the political fence for too long.) Toni Morrison wrote about their heartaches while John Steinbeck witnessed what could be their Catch-22. There have been many novels on rural America, and some generalizations could be made from it. Here's a sample:
America must be living in an insular world for some time. William Maxwell's "So Long, See You Tomorrow" described an unlikely friendship between the narrator, who happened to be a teenager, and the murderer who set the chain of events in the novel. It came to that point after a series of bizarre circumstances, which couldn't happen in any place. Some would suspect a lack of sophistication, but it won't be a case. There might be something else, which could only be seen when one would set foot in this remote part of America. It may be isolation, if not the stillness. Whatever it would be, it could be.
Don't ask them about politics. "Salem's Lot" was about the existence of a vampire coven in the distant part of Maine, which was Stephen King's hometown. Not a few would point out Jimmy Carter's era, which was the period when this novella was published. And they were spot on. King would allude to the alarming changes in American society brought by Carter, and the severe effects in far-flung places. Many observers argued that there was hardly any change between Carter's and Obama's. Both happened to be Democrats. And Maine was a Northeast state. Could the vampires be the liberals? Your guess would be good as anyone else.
American society would be defined by the rural folks. It won't be hard to suspect that they would comprise the majority of the American populace, even dictate the possible outcome of the US election. It may not be the case during the 2000 polls when Florida decided the outcome. (The Republican won that bout.) As William Faulkner described a harrowing custom in "As I Lay Dying", blood would be thicker than water. Rural folks would be looking for each other, and what could happen next might unsettle those who were unfamiliar with the rustic landscape. Who wants to join the ride through middle America?
