In all this sympathethic story of multigenerational dysfunction, I recall no mention of the father of those original five kids, or the father of the failed granddaughter Amber's kids.
I have long admired Kristof's persuasive writing; but persuasion is a curse when he uses his gift to mislead. Radical lib/prog globalism is what foisted NAFTA and other offshoring of American manufacturing, depriving the working class of its way of life during the working years of the original Knapp children; yet he overbraodly blames "captitalism" instead of the corruption in DC that saw both parties collaborate to redefine our economy around shareholders instead of families and profits instead of patriotism. Kristof's solution is to covet the soul-numbing socialism of Canada and Europe.
I have long admired Kristof's persuasive writing; but persuasion is a curse when he uses his gift to mislead.
This is a bait-and-switch narrative.
The first two paragraphs falsely lead us to believe this was an idyllic happy family and later in the piece it's 'revealed' the REAL cause of their downfall is society and an uncaring, heartless economic system that chews up families and spits them out.
The problems in this family are found within this family. Families went through the Depression and survived intact because the parents maintained stability and taught their children how to be upstanding individuals.
Who Killed the Knapp Family? Self-centered parents who cared more about their own drug use than they did about rearing morally upright children.