Cynthia Dill’s July 24 Maine Sunday Telegram commentary characterized “leftists,” among other things, as resentful, unsuccessful, envious people. I assume the “extremists” of the far left to whom Ms. Dill refers are the progressives who supported Bernie Sanders, as they are certainly well left of the Democratic National Committee/Hillary Clinton group that runs the Democratic Party.

Most of my old friends are progressives, and while they are a diverse group in some ways, they’re well-educated and economically successful. They share the beliefs common to all progressive movements on the planet – universal health care, education for all, a decent standard of living, a secure retirement, political processes that are largely publicly funded, and economic and social justice.

My progressive friends, to cite just a couple of examples, include a retired New Hampshire state senator and successful businessman whom I’ve known for decades. He remains the same well-informed, passionate spokesman for people who are economically challenged that he was 50 years ago.

Another progressive friend is a former graduate student of mine. He now is the president of a small liberal arts college – a highly respected man who’s been eminently successful in his professional life. Both of these individuals are Sanders supporters.

I’m a 75-year-old political junkie who has been a progressive for about 45 years, and I have been a lifelong Democrat until this spring. I am now unaffiliated. I was and continue to be a Bernie Sanders supporter.

My wife and I were university professors and doctoral-level psychologists. We were lucky enough to engage in work that was human service-oriented, but that also provided us with financial security.

In many respects, the professional successes we each enjoyed came through lucky rolls of the dice. Fate could have dealt us a different hand, and we’re well aware of that. We envy no one, except perhaps younger people with still-serviceable backs!

Len Roberge

Bath

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