Ray Buursma: Honoring the principled

Obsession and vengeance

After the great white whale chomped off his leg, Captain Ahab swore vengeance and roamed the seas hunting Moby Dick. Though the shipmaster's compulsion eventually destroyed his vessel and the lives of all his crew save one, Ahab sought vengeance to his last breath. Melville’s tale, nearly two centuries old, warns of obsession and vengeance.

A year and a half ago, America was ready to move on from Trump, but Trump was not ready to move on from America. He contested his loss in the courts. He sought nonexistent votes. He attempted to seat false electors and coerced Pence to declare malfeasance. He arranged and encouraged an insurrection and refused to attend the inauguration of America’s next president. All the while, his supporters dared not cross their captain.

A few, like Starbuck, the Pequod’s first mate who pleaded, “Oh Ahab. Not too late is it, even now … to desist. See!  Moby Dick seeks thee not. It is thou, thou, that madly seekest him," warned Trump, but their advice went unheeded.

On a ship, the captain is king. He answers to no one, and dissenters are not tolerated. Luckily, such is not the case in America, so Trump has critics. With every immoral and illicit step Trump took, dissenters, including me, railed.

Have no doubt, the critics’ denunciations were and are effects to Trump’s causes, not the other way around. Many columnists would love to have addressed other topics but felt they could not do so due to Trump’s continued transgressions. His misconduct never ceases. Even last month, we learned Trump took home more than a hundred classified documents he had no authority to possess. We still don’t know his motive.

Heroes with integrity

But today we focus on those who bore Trump’s wrath and became targets in Republican primaries. Liz Cheney, a staunch conservative by any measure, lost her contest. So did Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids, Herrera Beutler of Washington, and Tom Rice of South Carolina. Four others saw the writing on the wall and did not seek re-election. Only two defied the odds and won their primaries.

We would be remiss to ignore these heroes who placed integrity above career, so today we honor them. We thank them. We acknowledge their sacrifice. And we explore integrity — the quality of moral uprightness.

First, let us examine others’ thoughts concerning integrity, whose definition is being morally upright.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.

Alan K. Simpson: If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.

W. Clement Stone: Do the right thing because it is right.

Samuel Johnson: Knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Henry Kravis: You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing.

Samuel Richardson: Calamity is the test of integrity.

Larry Hagman: Once you get rid of integrity, the rest (illicit behavior) is a piece of cake.

Second, let us consider examples of characters with great integrity.

William Tyndale, Bible translator, challenged Henry VIII who annulled his own marriage to Catherine of Aragon.  Tyndale was strangled and then burned at the stake. His last words were, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”

John the Baptist criticized King Herod Antipas for marrying his sister in law, a violation of Jewish law. That criticism cost the baptizer his head.

Colin Kaepernick protested violent, illegal treatment of Black Americans when he kneeled during the national anthem. His actions cost him a football career.

Muhammed Ali refused induction into the military claiming the War in Viet Nam was immoral.  He was imprisoned and stripped of his boxing titles.

John McCain, POW in Vietnam, refused to be released earlier than other POWs because of his military connections.  His integrity cost him extra years of torture in a POW prison.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer criticized Nazi war actions and the extermination of Jews.  His integrity first cost him his liberty and eventually his life.

Integrity can be an expensive commodity. Those who have it risk sacrifice. Sometimes a job. Sometimes a career. Sometimes social status. Sometimes a friendship. Sometimes a family. Sometimes one’s life.

Thanks again

So Rice, Cheney, Meijer, Beutler, and all others from all walks of life who put principle above self, know your integrity is, in the long run, of greater value than position, power, wealth, or any other earthly measure of success.

You are greatly appreciated.

— Community Columnist Ray Buursma is a resident of Holland. Contact him at writetoraybuursma@gmail.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ray Buursma: Honoring the principled