Trail West Dispatch #5
Trail West Dispatch #5 October
4, 2025
“Remember
professional ethics. When political leaders set a
negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more
important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law
state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants,
and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.” –Timothy Snyder
Several
weeks ago, the US president asked Todd Arrington, the director of the
Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, KS to surrender a sword
that had been given to the former president.
The sword was to be a gift to King Charles of England. The director refused, explaining that the
artifacts in the museum’s possession belonged to the American people, and he
had no authority to give them away. This
week the director resigned, after being given the ultimatum of resigning or
being fired by order of “higher ups,” * despite having had many commendations
for his outstanding work performance in the past. I see the director’s actions as being
consistent with remembering the importance of professional ethics and just
practice.
In the
past, if Arrington had given away the sword, he might have been “punished” by someone
answering to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency,
the body charged with coordinating oversight of federal agencies. ** This
Council helped ensure that civil servants obey the law. This week, however, the Council had its Congress-approved
funding cut off, forcing its closure. This
is a negative example being set by political leaders in the regime, and no
amount of professional ethics practiced by agency personnel can compensate for
it. Dilemmas like this play out repeatedly
for civil servants, of late.
Snyder
especially notes the important role played by people in the legal
profession. In doing so, he names one of
the three kinds of work that originally made up the “professions:” law,
medicine, and theology. The list has
grown over time, and today it normally includes other kinds of work that require
extensive training, hands-on or in a classroom.
Snyder mentions civil servants and businessmen. Law enforcement, the military,
journalism, and education could be added.
Together with occupations that are common in our brotherhood--trades, services,
agriculture, and technology--professional ethics matter in every case.
Ideally,
each of us is guided first by our faith commitments, and second by established
ethics for our chosen “profession.” To
some extent, we should also familiarize ourselves with the ethics that apply in
realms of activity outside of our own.
Without this awareness, we are too easily deceived, and we may believe, act
on, and pass on deceptions. Ethics are
particularly relevant in the media world, in which many of us participate as
consumers. Painstaking accuracy in
reporting is called for—with data gleaned from and confirmed by multiple
sources (or objective proof is available), where uncertainties are acknowledged
as such, and where opinions are clearly separated from reporting. Errors are promptly acknowledged and
corrected, and ethics are not compromised, even under direct threats or other
pressure.
For the
TWD, I am purposely not representing it as a news reporting effort because I
cannot meet the exacting journalism profession standards of reporting, although
I typically honor the “multiple source” standard. The opinions expressed grow out of who I am, who
and what I care about and what I have learned.
They are aligned with my faith profession and the expectations within
our brotherhood. No other “profession” is claimed, but ethics are always prioritized
because being faithful to Jesus requires it.
Today I am
grateful for each person who stands against tyranny by honoring professional
ethics. I pray that all of us find grace to go beyond professional ethics to
bring Christian virtue and the way of Jesus to every attitude, every encounter,
and every task of life, especially in our occupations. –Miriam Iwashige
The first
two links are related to events at the Eisenhower Library and Museum:
This link
refers to a recent event in Chicago which involved many violations of law
enforcement ethics:
This is an
article about “bright lines.” It was
written by a Christian writer and researcher whom I appreciate, Robert P.
Jones.
posted by Miriam Iwashige at
7:56 PM
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