Women like Canton's Sarah Matthews will help save us from ourselves

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley had himself a pretty sweet little side gig as the self-appointed spokesmodel for masculinity until the Jan. 6 Select Committee ruined it all last week by showing a video clip of him running faster than Flo Jo to escape the same rioters he was photographed cheering on just hours before.

It was such an iconic photo that Hawley turned it into fundraising fodder, selling it on coffee mugs to fuel 2024 presidential aspirations for which he has no chance.

That cup and Hawley's chest-thumping claims as a man's man have been shattered into splinters.

Compare Hawley's quick-step retreat to the courage seen in former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, a Stark County born-and-raised, generational Republican who testified before the committee last week.

Once again, there's always a Stark connection.

Matthews backed up the previous testimony of Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who has had to go into hiding amid death threats.

More Charita Goshay: What courage really looks like

More Sarah Matthews: Ohio native, ex-White House staffer says Trump gave 'green light' to Jan. 6 rioters

Defenders of the former president have accused Matthews of being "a liar and pawn" who's seeking celebrity.

Lying under oath? Not even Gen. Michael Flynn was that stupid.

Sarah Matthews put her country first

It seems to be beyond the grasp of some folks that a person might enter public service for its own sake. Besides, there are plenty of easier ways to become famous in this selfie/TikTok/Instagram era (See: Kardashians).

Putting your life — literally — and career at risk by testifying in front of the country probably doesn't rank in the top 10 of fun and viral stuff to do, like say, the Ice Bucket Challenge.

No, you only do such a thing because you're telling the truth.

Because you love your country more than your ambitions.

Because even when telling the truth is scary, you know it's the only way you can live with yourself, so it's worth it.

This isn't a new drama, of course. It's as old as the Scriptures. Truth tellers tend to find themselves in trouble when the truth they tell becomes inconvenient.

Rejecting the repeatedly disproven lie that the 2020 election was rigged is why Northeast Ohio is losing U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Rocky River, who's being pushed out for refusing to support the Big Lie, even as the lives of his wife and children are threatened.

Truth tellers don't get invited to play golf; they get run out of town.

More Charita Goshay: Anthony Gonzalez is being punished for doing his job

Flying Wallendas             

Same for committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, whose newborn has been targeted.

But it's the women — Matthews, Hutchinson, Georgia poll workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, and Rep. Liz Cheney — who have borne the most vitriol, yet will help to save this country from itself.

It will take history to bestow upon them the credit they deserve.

Now, it can't be denied that Matthews and Hutchinson willingly worked for Donald Trump, or that Cheney voted with his policies more than 90% of the time.

But the distance between these women — and the men who have waffled, moonwalked, and done more flip-flops than The Flying Wallendas while abandoning their mother's morals to aid and abet what feels like a precipitous slide into fascism — can't be measured with the James Webb Space Telescope.

There have been some men brave enough to come forward. Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, testified with tears that he resisted furious efforts to overturn the results of 2020 election in his state even as his family was harassed, then said he would vote for Trump again if he runs in 2024.

While it may be the nature of guys to get over insults and slights easier than women do, that's ridiculous.

Next week, Canton will go all out to welcome eight Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees and their fans, who regard them as heroes.

Sarah Matthews won't get a jacket, ring, a jacket, or a parade, but she probably deserves it.

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Women like Canton's Sarah Matthews show what courage looks like