Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Taking a Stand

Well God bless him for his strength of conviction—NC state employee L.F. Eason III resigned his job rather than obey NC Governor Mike Easley's directive to lower the flags to half mast in honor of the late Senator Jesse Helms.

As my post about Helms death on July 4th indicates, I am not a fan of the late senator, but I think I will have to add my name to Mr. Eason's list of admirers. I hope he finds new, more favorable employ quickly.

Posted by at
Labels: , ,

4 comments:

Rev Wes Isley said...

Kudos to him!

July 10, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Anonymous said...

Im glad he quit. He should have been fired. If you like Helms or not, the state sure voted him in quite a few times. The flag is flown at half staff to honor the position held, not the man who held it. The flag was flown at half staff when Nixon died. It will be flown at half staff when Clinton and Carter die and yes Broad even when Bush dies. I do not enjoy paying all the tax I pay, however I have no sympathy for a tax evader. Point is that when an executive order is given, a state employee has no right to refuse on personal grounds. Had Edwards died and he refused to fly the flag at half staff would you still be singing praise or demanding he be fired. Public service exist if we like the person doing it or not.

July 10, 2008 at 9:01 PM
broad minded said...

Anon, you are right about the reason the flag is flown at half mast. the problem with helms is that he did a lot, in my opinion, to dishonor that position. and yes i am sure that many people feel the same about clinton and others. i have never condone clinton for fooling around in the white house, but i think there is a huge difference between a private sexual act that goes against someone's marriage vows and doing all you can to sublimate an entire race. but perhaps we should just agree to disagree on that point?

back to the state employee, yes he took a stand that went against what his job asked of him. what i appreciate is his willingness to take that stand AND the consequences that resulted from it.

back when i worked for a big supporter of the GOP who was known for making company employees do politically tinged work, i told the husband that if i were asked to do something like that i would refuse, even if it meant my job. i had my principles and i knew the risks they carried and was willing to abide by those risks. i think mr. eason did the same and i applaud that. his actions hurt no one but himself which is what makes it different from a pharmacist refusing to dispense birth control. so yes, when the time comes, if a republican is willing to lose his or her state job by refusing to honor clinton by lowering the flag, then i say that is there right. i may not agree with them, but i will applaud their right to do so.

friends again?

July 11, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Anonymous said...

I may not agree with your views Broad, but I must say you have class. You are a true patriot.

July 11, 2008 at 7:07 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)