海角大神

When Janet Willis saw thousands of protesters descending on Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta to protest President Trump鈥檚 executive order on immigration, her first thought was not to drop everything and join them.聽

It was: 鈥淲hy aren鈥檛 they at work?鈥�

The retirement-age proprietor of Buckhead Bait & Tackle notes that she鈥檚 in the store baking biscuits at 3:30 a.m. and doesn鈥檛 go home until six at night.

So when asked how Mr. Trump is doing so far, Ms. Willis says he is 鈥渄oing a great job.鈥�

Towns like Swords, Buckhead, and Rutledge 鈥� dotted with hay fields, tin-roofed barns, and sawmills 鈥� seem as far away from chaotic airport scenes as one can get. Residents like Willis say they are the 鈥渇orgotten America鈥� to which Trump gave voice.

But here in the Bible Belt, even among strong support for Trump, there is a thread of concern, particularly over the actions targeting refugees and immigrants. Some of the churches here are the ones who send missionaries and aid workers abroad 鈥� and welcome the refugees who arrive here. Others preach from the pulpit, as one local sermon did Sunday, of the need for 鈥渞adical hospitality鈥� 鈥� the Biblical imperative to always greet the stranger with warmth.

For Willis, families fleeing political violence in Myanmar have become a common sight here among the dairy farms of central Georgia 鈥� and important customers in a town where business is always a little slow.

So partly for that reason, she says, Trump has 鈥渢o be very careful鈥� on the immigrant question. 鈥淲e have to be safe. But people who aren鈥檛 out to hurt us need to be welcomed, not turned away.鈥�

Working-class values

According to a recent , 48 percent of Americans support 鈥渟uspending immigration from terror prone regions, even if it means turning away refugees.鈥� The president鈥檚 executive order temporarily suspends the United States refugee program and blocks citizens from seven Muslim nations from entering for 90 days. Refugees from Syria are blocked indefinitely.

But from bait shops to Baptist pulpits in a region where Trump got 3 out of every 4 votes, the order has opened up questions about how fundamental American and 海角大神 values fit into the brawling politics of the moment.

鈥淲hen you talk about individual people, Americans fundamentally want fairness 鈥� it鈥檚 a fundamental American feeling 鈥� which in turn means those stories [of individual immigrants being turned away] have much more impact,鈥� says Barry Hollander, a political scientist at the University of Georgia in nearby Athens.

And at his Roswell, Ga., church on Sunday, the Rev. Eric Lee acknowledged to his parishioners that the 鈥渨hole concept of being hospitable to strangers can be unnerving, scary.鈥�

But then he wondered: 鈥淎re we willing to take risks on behalf of our faith? Because practicing intentional, even radical hospitality toward strangers is inherent to the 海角大神 ethic.鈥�

To some, the lack of protests and angry placards might suggest that the white working class doesn鈥檛 wrestle with these values. But that is a misperception, argues Nadine Hubbs, a cultural historian at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

鈥淲hite working class politics don鈥檛 really fit into red and blue, conservative and liberal, but they really can be described more in terms of 鈥� what is good for their community and their family, and also what鈥檚 fair and what鈥檚 moral,鈥� says Professor Hubbs, author of 鈥淩ednecks, Queers, and Country Music,鈥� citing her findings from interviews in and around Detroit.

Ronnie Ricks's 'sinking feeling'

Ronnie Ricks, a Trump voter, says policies that welcome foreigners at the expense of Americans have gone too far, which is why he welcomes the ban.

鈥淚 lost my 36-year job to Mexico, and that is a sinking feeling if ever there was one,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o, I'm glad somebody is finally [reversing]聽policies that are threatening our communities.鈥�

When asked about the Bible鈥檚 admonition to welcome the stranger as a friend, Mr. Ricks becomes slightly offended. But he quickly calms down, noting that 鈥渢he Bible also says to build walls.鈥�

Still, he acknowledges that America can鈥檛 be in the business of broad-brushing people by religion. 鈥淲e can't do it based on belief, I agree with that," he says.

Trump says his ban is not based on religion. Many critics disagree.聽

For rural Georgians like Ricks, such statement is not theoretical. Nearby Clarkston, Ga., has been called the Ellis Island of the South for its high number of refugees. The population of 7,500 speaks more than 60 languages.

Even here on the shores of nearby Lake Ocone, refugees seeking catfish often encounter camouflaged duck hunters.

At a friendly rural trading post in Swords that used to be known as Kristie鈥檚 Korner, the new owner says Trump is right to tighten national security, even if it causes hardship for some.

The shop is now called Sandhu Food Mart and the owner is Suberjaat Kaur, who was born in India and gained her American citizenship just days after the election.

鈥淓verybody in this area likes Trump, it鈥檚 true,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 like Trump, too. I wish him well on protecting the country."