Recent perusals of letters to this newspaper may leave one with the impression that our country is divided between liberal "whiners," furious about the election and eager for more government handouts, and conservative bigots, whose misogyny and xenophobia reflect deficits in both character and intelligence.

Few of us, however, meet either description. As I see it, the Democrats selected a terrible candidate before any votes were cast, thus virtually guaranteeing a Republican victory. In their excitement Republican voters, having been taught by their own leaders to believe that government is the problem, seized a unique, and probably unrepeatable, opportunity to select a president from outside it.

Many liberals, myself included, can imagine the potential good that could come of such a move; while most conservatives realize the potential dangers. We therefore do not rail against the other side (or write nasty letters), but hope only that President Trump can keep a fraction of the promises he has made to his supporters, most of whom are either working class, underemployed, or in uniform, and whose interests we all take to heart.

William Allik

Stonington