<p><strong>To the editor:</strong></p>
<p>American democracy is under siege — not from foreign powers but from within our own government.</p>
<p>Former CIA director John Brennan served under several presidents, but the current administration frightens him and raises concerns about the future of America. The following comes from an essay he wrote for The Washington Post. It’s a warning we all should heed.</p>
<p>"For more than three decades, I observed and analyzed the traits and tactics of corrupt, incompetent and narcissistic foreign officials who did whatever they thought was necessary to retain power. Exploiting the fears and concerns of their citizenry, these demagogues routinely relied on lies, deceit and suppression of political opposition to cast themselves as populist heroes and to mask self-serving priorities.</p>
<p>"By gaining control of intelligence and security services, stifling the independence of the judiciary and discrediting a free press, these authoritarian rulers followed a time-tested recipe for how to inhibit democracy’s development, retard individual freedoms and liberties, and reserve the spoils of corrupt governance for themselves and their ilk. It never dawned on me that we could face such a development in the United States."</p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Richard Gotshall</strong></p>
<p><p style="text-align: right"><strong>Franklin</strong></p>
