Day 4,112—Would You Lie Publicly to Keep Your Job?

 

         I was thinking today about all the good conservatives who work in public office who have been asked to lie and commit fraud or lose their job. It is a tough position to put anyone in. It is easier if somebody you don’t like is asking you to lie, but when it is your friends and allies blackmailing you so that you lie to a judge and/or commit fraud, it is tough.

         There are several compelling reasons to lie in this case, as it is what people expect of you and allows you to continue essentially as you have been doing. However, if you were to defy your boss's request, you don't know what is going to happen. It is a huge risk, but I have a great deal of respect for everyone across the political spectrum who chooses to speak the truth, despite the consequences.

         When people analyze the reason so many Catholic and Jewish leaders went along with the Nazis, it is because those individuals stayed loyal to their life/position/family over what they knew was right. Those decisions made it easier for Hitler to kill millions of Jews and other minorities, but some did the right thing and were persecuted for it at the time, and history largely forgot they existed, so I am writing a thank you to those people now and across time who cared more about the right thing than their safety and comfort, which isn’t easy. It wouldn't be easy for me; it wouldn’t be easy for anyone. We all want to be loved and appreciated by our communities, so I have boundless admiration for people like Erez Reuveni. Thank you, Mr. Reuveni, for showing me that there are still people who work(ed) in government who have morals and don’t blindly follow unlawful commands.