You cannot drive through Uvalde without encountering monuments to the tragedy that has become synonymous with its name. In the town square, 21 crosses wreathed in flowers, photos, and remembrances encircle a fountain—one for every life lost in the massacre at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Across the city, the victims’ faces, painted several stories tall on the side of buildings, smile down on citizens like guardian angels. Flags bearing the slogan “Uvalde Strong” stand in many yards. In the weeks following the election, they far outnumbered political signs. But Uvalde, like all of us, is more complicated than the worst thing that has happened to it. Before the shooting, Uvalde County—of which the city, population 15,436, is the seat—was mostly rural, blue-collar, and…