A Heart Tempered By Life

Living with integrity and belief in human goodness is the well spring of courage. — Sophie Scholl, as she faced death at the hands of the Nazis.

In The Wizard of Oz the tin man is on a quest for a heart, the straw man needs a brain, and the lion needs courage. Of all these in the story neither is more important, but in our leaders I believe the “heart” tops them all. I once had an afternoon of beers and discussion with a friend about the most important qualification for a judge. Once again, I favored a judge with a heart tempered by life and all its tragedies over intellect.

Yesterday, the NY Times ran four pages of names of people who had died due to the coronavirus. If that didn’t touch every person in a position of leadership then they don’t deserve to be in office. I do not blame anyone for the virus, and it is only hindsight that tells us how and when we should have responded, but our current actions need brains, courage, and most of all heart.

If we as a community, a state, a nation, and a world lead with our hearts, we have a future.

About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.

5 Comments +

  1. Amen, Webb. He is already planning to not accept defeat or leave office. I am afraid I have evil thoughts!

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