From the editor: This way and that

A line from “The Great Gatsby” came to mind over the weekend. It was something about the human capacity for hope or wonder—reaching over to the bookcase to double check seemed a bit too strenuous for a Saturday afternoon.

Fitzgerald was, of course, referring to our innate ability to see potential. But what about the human capacity for foolish trust?

Some firmly believe, despite a swell of evidence against their supposition, that the president is either a tyrant or a Muslim. Others look back on the previous administration and pronounce the former president insufficiently informed. The...