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I was very affected by "Sole Survivor" [Nov. 8], your story about Jim Davis, chief executive of New Balance, and his determination to continue manufacturing 25% of his company's shoes in the U.S. It is tragic that Davis' pro-American attitude is so unusual among sneaker companies. Although I am not part of the youth culture that the company needs to court, I will, after reading your article, purchase only New Balance sneakers. Thank you, Jim Davis, for being an old-fashioned guy with a forward-minded idea — hardworking Americans producing high-quality products for Americans and the world.
CARMEN MARDEN
Campbell, N.Y.

Let's hope that Davis sticks to his guns and keeps manufacturing shoes in the U.S. Someone has to take a stand and start to turn around America's trade imbalance so that we maintain our ability to make and not just consume things. At some point, there will be no wages and no way to buy all the stuff that is made overseas for pennies an hour.
RUTH RILEY
Columbus, Ohio

Wake Up and Make Up?

"The Morning After" [Nov. 1] asked if , when the presidential campaign is over, it will "be possible to pick up the pieces, bridge the gaps and reunite the United States." Now that George Bush has been elected to another four-year term, the stakes could not be higher for the people of the world, the majority of whom seem to be dead set against him. Bush's victory was a defeat for the world. It's too bad we don't have global suffrage for U.S. presidential elections.
TETSU SUZUKI
Kariya, Japan

Our great country was founded on the principle that people of vastly different beliefs and opinions can live together as one nation. Time and again the people of the U.S. have pulled together and shown the world that we are one nation, that we stand together. Our country healed its wounds after the Civil War. The divisiveness in America, which you called an "Uncivil War," was created by the news media. Now that the elections are over, the government and people of this country can get back to the business at hand. We will go on, as we have in the past, thanks to the foresight of our Founding Fathers. They were familiar with the public's inclination to passionate political differences, and they dealt with that in the document we so treasure: the Constitution.
CAROL A. DUDA
Grove City, Pa.

We are a strong country with strong views. In the presidential election, those views came to the forefront and caused political debate among all facets of our society. Now that the election is over, however, we can settle back and support our country, which has become the strongest nation in the world in part because of our ability to have a contest like this and recover from it quickly afterward. We are not a fractured society; we are a dynamic society. We expect intense discussion over who will lead us. But I have no doubt that our bonds of patriotism are strong enough that Republicans and Democrats can still work together, go to church together and play together.
RANDY HORN
St. Michael, Minn.