Today I Learned: Honor Still Matters

My father was a career Naval officer, and I learned several values from him. I learned honesty, respect for authority (or at least, the office), and a strong sense of honor. These are values that I still hold today.

I told my children that nothing – not money, a relationship, or a job – is worth forfeiting your honor. Since this administration began, I have been disappointed in those politicians and followers of the President who are willing to sacrifice their honor for just those things: money, their relationship with an authoritarian President, and their job. But there are some exceptions.

Last week, Dr. Demetre C. Daskalakis, Director of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases resigned his position. His resignation states: “While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people. . . . I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”

Other directors resigned for the same reasons. These include: Dr. Deb Houry, Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science, Dr. Dan Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Jennifer Layden, Director for the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology. These public servants resigned, rather than compromise their honor and scientific integrity for the sake of a job. As they left, other employees of the CDC rallied in support.

Dr. Daskalakis, explained his reasons further by saying, “My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.”

This is honor.

One reason often given for not taking such a stand is that a person needs their job. But forfeiting your honor for the sake of a job cannot end well. What is your legacy if you have no enduring values?  

Too many people “go along to get along.” I hope that you are not one of them. What would you do or have you done in this situation? Remember that whatever you choose is a reflection of your values. It is my hope that more and more people will start to stand up for what they know is right.