It has been a pleasure to have this exchange with you. Age has taught me that I am wrong, often...or at least that I'm not exactly right. I recognize that philosophically we may have disagreements about the role of government.

Of course I'm civil, as you have been. Each of us has lived a long time and each has come to our views after a lifetime of experience. I am perhaps less committed to my perspective on government than you may believe.

It can be (usually is) rotten and corrupt. It can be, (and often is) intrusive. It is certainly wasteful. I remember reading about bureaucracy in imperial Russia. It was a cesspool. It swallowed people up--their time, their money, even their freedom.

Sometimes it feels as though we have reached that level of bureaucracy in this country. I'm all for cleaning that out.

However...government is necessary. Government can be good. I believe it can help to guarantee liberty in our country if we follow that wonderful document drafted by our founders, the Constitution. I oppose autocracy, one-man rule. The only way to avoid one-man rule is to hold whoever leads us to the law. To the Constitution.

I think you and I may agree on values. I think we both love our country very much. And yet I'm certain there is a wide gulf between how each of us believes we can support those values and our country through political action.

Wishing you the very best. Happy to know you are retired peacefully. I guess I'm retired, but have significant family obligations at this time in my life.