Since the shocking presidential election result, many people have approached me with quizzical expressions, some with tears in their eyes. I live among the adorables, but I think like a deplorable. To them I am that most exotic creature—a conservative Republican—and they really seem to want to understand the mind-set of those who voted for Donald Trump (or, like me, weren’t heartbroken when he won). Some have felt the need to hug me as if to embrace that half of America from which they feel estranged.

I realize that as the...