To the Editor:

On July 4, 1776, 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence that Thomas Jefferson authored. In so doing they pledged to each other, their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Their singular courage cannot be quantified for they knew full well that they would be hanged for treason if caught by the British. (Following that momentous day for all Americans, many of the 56 suffered great hardship in the years of the Revolutionary War and the years shortly after. Some of them were tortured and died at the hands of the enemy during that conflict.)

Now that we are in the 240th year of our independence, few give proper reflection on the miracle that these 56 men and others (including brave women) set in motion – American exceptionalism – the first and only nation that would be ruled by the people themselves. And still fewer among us still weigh the courage and import of their pledge – their sacred honor.

Their sacred honor! In the coming election in November, one party’s candidate for the highest office in our land is a person bereft of honor because of repeated lies while holding a high office in our government. Truthfulness is the very cornerstone, the linchpin of honor for without it all virtues crumbles. But still this candidate remains as a viable candidate and enjoys support from other notable leaders of her party.

How should the reader react to this? Do not the candidate’s leading party members understand that their candidate has an egregious dearth of honor but they then themselves also give short shrift to truth and honor by supporting this candidate? What are we to think of them? Do they expect the rank and file members of the party to also dismiss out of hand the candidate’s lack of integrity? The answers will be clear to everyone after the election in November. However, a precursor to the outcome may be gleaned from the honorable Rhode Islanders’ rejection of this candidate in the recent past primary election. One can hope, not only for the good name of Rhode Island but more importantly the good of our nation.

Sam Parente

Cranston