With regard to the commentary “My administration is fighting to protect Alaskans’ liberty and privacy,” with Mike Dunleavy’s name attached, which ran in the ADN Dec. 12:
If Gov. Dunleavy wanted to protect democracy from an anti-democratic executive branch, he should have done so during the previous U.S. administration. The overblown rhetoric in his essay is almost comical, especially the ninth and 10th paragraphs, referring to George III and “assaults on parents.”
I was immediately reminded of Samuel Johnson’s words, uttered in 1775: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” which his biographer James Boswell clarified in his notes as meaning that patriotism can be used as “a cloak for self-interest.”
— Clarence Crawford
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.