In G.P. Olrun’s letter (Nov. 18) he states that “people who believe in their state’s viability after secession are idiots.” The colonists believed in the colonies’ viability before defeating England in their war for secession. I guess Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, et al, were idiots for wanting to secede from England; all they did was establish a nation of unparalleled freedom in the history of the world that has lasted until this day, well, at least until 2008.

— Jim Dore

Anchorage