Beware the Interpreter: “Hillbilly Elegy” as a Prime Example

“Vance’s critics could benefit from a basic overview of the difference between a primary and secondary source, and between the personal and the systemic.”

I count among my fonder memories reading Ziauddin Sardar’s primer What Do Muslims Believe? some 12 years ago. In retrospect, my high school history teacher deserves much credit for including this book in the curriculum—and even more for elevating the voices of our class’s small Muslim minority as we discussed it. It goes without saying that Sardar could not speak perfectly on behalf of all Muslims, but reading What Do Muslims Believe? was, nevertheless, a formative moment for a group of students largely uninitiated in the religion. It was the first time many of us had Islam explained by someone who was not Christian. The interfaith and intercultural conversations that followed were of a quality that astounds me to this day.

It was not all Kumbaya, of course. Seeking to understand Islam even better, I went on to purchase a copy of the Quran. A relevant biographical detail is that I grew up in a conservative part of Michigan, at a time when the September 11th attacks were still a fresher memory. So, needless to say, there were some eyebrows raised as I carried that book around.

This was all for the better, I think. If one seeks to understand something, one must be willing to look it in the face. To do so takes work, but it is the best way to learn. Thus emerges a general rule: To understand a phenomenon, first consult primary accounts. Going straight to the source can be far more educational (and more fun) than getting information secondhand.