You can see the anger at these rallies, but what you don't see is the sadness and shame - which is what you come to see when you cross the empathy wall. There's a sense of loss, their families are very troubled. They don't see a raise in pay ahead, they haven't had one for 20 years. There's a sense of 'Where are we going? Does anybody see me? Does anybody care?'

Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild explores the "deep story" of American conservatism - a set of racial fears and anti-government resentments driven by economic anxiety - and calls for empathy and engagement with the right, and a Democratic party return to policies addressing the realities of working people in an era of globalization.

Arlie is author of the new book Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right from The New Press.