Is it better to live with integrity or die as a coward?
28 March 2025
I have decided that I would rather live my life striving for integrity, even if it poses some risks to my health and safety, rather than living a life of cowardice. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change. How important is it to you?
Today, we are being tested by the transformation of the United States, the world’s oldest democracy, into a dictatorship or oligarchy run by Donald J. Trump. How will you respond?
The danger of speaking out is real. Trump and his lackeys are threatening and taking action against those with views he dislikes, including deportations and damage to their business interests.
Each one of us has to decide how to respond. Will we cower in the hope that we will be spared the wrath of Trump? Or will we be true to our principles and fight back?
Some of the world’s richest people, who have little to lose and the capacity to fight back, are acting as cowards and doing nothing:
Jamie Dimon, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett have spoken out on everything else but are afraid to come out against Trump. They are relinquishing whatever claims they had to leadership in America.
Cowardice and capitulation are staining the legacy of a once esteemed mega law firm, according to some.
Many otherwise rational people know that what Trump is doing is wrong but have decided to support him anyway or refuse to oppose him.
On the other hand, many individuals are fighting back. I choose to follow their example:
But today I’d like to honor unsung heroes whose courage in the face of the Trump-Musk takeover of America deserves our profound thanks. They are public servants who have chosen to fight rather than submit to Trump’s treachery, contesting his blatantly illegal attempts to fire them. More.
It’s your life and your choice. How do you want to live it? How do you want to be remembered?
I heard this at a funeral a long time ago:
The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning to the end.He noted first came the date of the birth and spoke the following date with tears.
But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between the years.For that dash represents all the time that they spent life on Earth.
And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.For it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash.So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand the way other people feel.Be less quick to anger and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.So, when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?
I want to be remembered as someone who worked hard to make the world a better place, not just concerned with increasing my net worth. I want to live a life fighting for justice, not just trying to preserve a comfortable life. How about you?
The index to my prior essays (mostly post 5 November 2024) is here.
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