In somewhat broader terms, I oppose government dictating by law what are essentially matters of conscience.”

Lester Hunt, who later became the inspiration for one of the main characters in Allen Drury’s classic political novel Advise and Consent.

“I am not one of fortune’s favorites, otherwise than in receiving the rewards of my own exertions,” he wrote.

“I know you have been homesick a little of the time,” he added a few weeks later, “but that you are and will be too much of a man to show it or let this worry you to any extent.”

We in this country have been going through a long, dark night of self-criticism. We have been telling ourselves that America has tried to run the world, that it is corrupt, that many of our institutions have failed us and need to be “dismantled” under the guise of “reform.” Confession may be good for the soul, but there comes a time when too much c