The US has a problem with condemning hardship while simultaneously glorifying it. The major problem with carroting is it paints a false picture of success and failure, and consequently makes the rest of us feel inferior when we’re unable to hit the mark.

I approached it like a golden lab crashing a wedding buffet. I wasn’t supposed to be there, but damn if I wasn’t going to cram my mouth with as much food as possible while they yanked me off the table.

To my memory, it’s not unlike the situation writers faced after the 2016 election. Suddenly, the United States was upended in a way nobody could ignore, and to not acknowledge it in a plot felt like a blatant disregard to the point of distraction for some readers.