The Courage Required

          People are always being celebrated for their courage and heroism for doing the accepted and expected thing. Soldiers, police and 1^st responders, most of all, are cited for heroically carrying out their jobs. But these are, in fact their jobs, and jobs they have volunteered for and been trained to do. It’s laudable when they do these jobs well and with commitment, but I don’t think that this, in and of itself, earns them the designation ‘hero’.

          What I think is far more courageous is to do the unexpected and even the un-accepted, for a good that transcends your own, personal interest. So the people I want to call attention to in these troubled times, are the life-long republicans who are speaking out against Donald Trump.

          Personally, I don’t really think it should be a difficult thing to be anti-Trump. To me, the man is so obviously narcissistic, grossly immature, morally vacuous and deeply ignorant that I continue to find it hard to believe that he developed a following in the first place. But what I do understand is that many people, while recognizing all of these deficits, were so committed to particular policy positions, such as a conservative Supreme Court, the repeal of Roe v. Wade, and gun rights, that they calculated that a vote for Trump was an acceptable price to pay. I don’t agree with these conservative positions, so it’s very easy for me to reject Trump for these reasons on top of his character flaws. But I can see how difficult a calculation I’d have to make if Trump and Biden’s policy positions reversed.

          So I want to applaud and thank republicans such as those behind the Lincoln Project, who recognize that the current election is a matter of choosing between Trump and America. They see what a caustic effect Trump’s presidency is having on the most fundamental characteristics of American democracy, things like ease of voting, independence and trust in the courts and the media.

          But I also recognize that many republicans who turn from Trump will pay a heavy cost. Some are being rejected by their communities and their friends. Some will suffer in their professional lives. And some will live with a deep sense of doubt, having turned against the candidate most likely to further their most valued policy beliefs. This is real courage and heroism. And I’m appreciative.