My high school teaching peers and I sat around the other day discussing essential qualities we want our students to embrace. We tossed around words like “compassion,” “curiosity,” “accountability.” But the word we kept coming back to was “integrity” — strong moral principles that guide us in the decisions we make. We considered this a quintessential value.

Meanwhile, while our staff was discussing essential traits we want our students to emulate, President Trump was holding a press conference. He was, once again, surrounded by a variety of Republican sycophants who held the emblematic MAGA hat proclaiming, “America is back!”

Sen. Susan Collins, our Maine senator, stood by while Trump bullied a respected female journalist, by asking this “lady” why she never smiles. Perhaps CNN’s Kaitlan Collins should have been smiling while she was asking questions about the Epstein files? Perhaps she should have been grateful that he didn’t call her “piggy,” as Trump called another female reporter?

I ask, where is Susan Collins’ integrity as she stood just over Trump’s shoulder with a smile pasted on her face while Trump made incoherent, wild, accusatory statements? Where has her integrity gone? And, all those Republicans who lament that they don’t always like what Trump says, but they like his decisions, need to wake up. Where is their integrity?  

Currently, many educators feel like Sisyphus, as we try to help our students gain integrity, but when we look around at our “leaders”— well, it feels like a pretty big rock we are pushing.

Julie Blodgett
Bath