Finished Comey’s book, A Higher Loyalty. Excellent in every respect. Don’t read it for his recounting of his interactions with Trump. (1) That’s only a small portion of the book anyway, and (2) we know all that stuff already. Read it for everything that comes before and after. What defines an ethical leader and why we so desperately need such leaders in our currently toxic political climate, in business, and elsewhere. Read it to be reminded that this country was built on values and a respect for the rule of law, principles that should be regarded as bipartisan, but sadly aren’t since both parties seem to abandon such principles at their convenience. (I’m looking at you, Republican lawmakers.) Read it to grow your respect for the men and women of the Department of Justice and the FBI, who have committed themselves to the pursuit of justice and who remain, like Lady Justice herself, blind to the politics and partisanship of Washington. Or at least they try to. Read this book because there is something dying in this country, or as Comey puts it: we are in a forest fire, where the very principles that define us as a country are under assault.
And if you support Trump, if you think that his model of leadership is what this country needs, if you celebrate his attacks on justice, if you revel in his assault on truth and decency, if you applaud his narcissistic self-adulation or his petty attacks on the the press or individuals or whoever questions his actions, I invite you to read this book. Not because it will change your mind (If you’ve stuck with Trump this long, I’m fairly certain nothing will change your mind. Not a confession, not a tape, not incontrovertible evidence of criminal action.) Read it because Trump will be gone some day, and you’ll have to vote for someone else. Read it because America will only be around for as long we collectively work to preserve it.
