Anyone wondering why this country is more divided than even the misbegotten America First days before World War II should read Rich Hatch’s letter (“Blame lack of role models and no societal standards,” Nov. 30).

He says liberals are “hypocrites for belittling anyone who doesn’t believe what they tell them to believe.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump called brown-skinned immigrants “vermin” and spewed hatred for the “enemy inside” in his campaign rants.

Mr. Hatch says conservatives avoid “venomous words.” How about Trump mocking President Biden’s stuttering as a youth and making fun of Nancy Pelosi after someone tried to beat her husband to death with a hammer? That’s just plain cruel.

Mr. Hatch also cites “witch hunts,” referring to charges that Trump tried to overturn an election. Prosecutors were well prepared, but the Supreme Court granted Trump immunity.

Going to court without that evidence would have been profoundly unethical and could have damaged many legal careers. They had the facts, unlike the Trump attorneys who failed 60 times to overturn the 2000 election in courts.

Actions speak louder than words. Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker called the Jan. 6 crowd “violent seditionists instigated by a demagogue and aimed at the destruction of the very idea of law.”

That’s not how democracy is supposed to work. Whatever happened to civilized disagreement? For most of our glorious history, a man who lost by seven million votes, instigated a riot, and spent the next three-plus years whining like a sore loser on the playground would have been shunned by outraged voters.

Dave Griffiths, Mechanic Falls