There is an acid test we apply when making decisions at work: “How would I feel about describing this from a witness stand?” It’s not that we ever expect to be on a witness stand, it’s just a good reminder that when making difficult decisions we should never let self-interest or shortcuts get in the way of our ethics. Do the right thing. Only act in ways that would make us proud to recount.
I find myself wondering, shouldn’t the same consideration apply to foreign policy; to our conduct on the world stage? With reports of the recent abandonment of our partners-in-war Kurdish allies, extortion of a foreign government, and now the assassination of a foreign leader, there is reason for concern. Would we as a country survive the witness-stand test; not by spinning the facts or presenting partial truths, but from an honest accounting of the facts known and decisions made? Are we still the good guys?