Shortly after the recent election, the New York Times reported the results of a new study documenting a deep and pervasive pessimism among the American public, cutting across ideological lines. Only a quarter of Americans think the country’s best days are ahead, only one in ten thinks the government represents them well. This is broadly true both of Trump supporters and of the half of the country that voted against him. “In a sense,” the report concludes, “it is in the deep chords of distrust where Americans seem most united.”