On March 26, the Sun Journal published a letter from Mark Wiggly under the headline “Favors.” The gist of his letter suggests that invectives hurled at and nonsupport of the president (all the fault of senators from New England) resulted in the non-appointment of a New England representative to the Base Realignment Closure Commission in obvious retaliation. He uses the word “favor” as if this is an accepted government practice, not a corruption.

Wiggly’s normalizing of favoritism disturbs me deeply. I worry this nation might lose sight of the ideal of leadership that places the welfare of the whole over the welfare of those who support them in their pursuit to gain power. I know that I may sound foolishly idealistic in light of the fact that our president has flagrantly flaunted that he is of the second persuasion. I hope we are still able to recognize the dangers of using power in the coercive fashion Wiggly’s letter suggests.

Another ideal of our nation, of particular importance in elections, is the right to speak freely and honestly about how we feel about our elected officials. I hope Wiggly did not intend to imply that we should be perhaps more cagey, hold our beliefs quietly to our chests in hopes of garnering favors from our officials in office, while overlooking what we feel is best for the whole. And I hope that in our political passions, we do not exchange Jeffersonian ideals of liberty for Machiavellian ideals of power.

Cynthia Handlen, Gilead

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