We have had several “profiles in courage” moments – moments when politicians stood tall against the odds, against their party leaders and did the right thing.
But 2025 is not over.
I am hoping to add to the list of nominees for a profile in courage award before the end of the year. The question today is a simple one: “Are we a country that kills those weaker than us, unarmed, without due process, or someone who poses an imminent threat to an American simply because we can?”
The founding fathers are waiting to see who will stand up for the Bible, forget about merely standing up for the Constitution. After all, some believe that even if you are born in America, you are not an American.
“Thou shall not kill” is the Sixth Commandment. Some believe the eighth-grade bullies can pick on those much smaller in might, you know 3 rd graders, simply because they can. And let’s see if anyone will win a profile in courage award for standing with God instead of those who would relish the killing of the small, weak, and defenseless.
Let’s set the record straight, most of the fentanyl enters America on land via Mexico and the drug is produced in China. Go figure why Venezuela is President Donald Trump’s target.
The answer? Trump’s true actions often tie into the “deal” – his monetary gains or U.S. expansionism. Consider Trump’s tariffs on Canada while the president demanded our neighbor to the North become part of the U.S., the Gaza strip settlement and Trump’s plans for turning the coastal enclave into a resort destination, the Trump administration asked Ukraine to give or share its natural resources in exchange for greater protection from the U.S. against Russia, the administration’s stated aim to acquire Greenland for its natural resources, and Trump’s real prize in Venezuela: its oil reserves that rival those of Saudi Arabia.
One would need to go back to the 1940s to see a more expansionist world leader.
Also, if a person really cared about stopping the drug trade in America one would not pardon one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers – former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernandez – who was convicted by an American court and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
To cure the fentanyl problem, as former First Lady Nancy Reagan has said, “Just say no to drugs.” Americans are dying due to a drug overdose (sometimes drugs tainted with fentanyl). It is sad, but I have more sympathy for the 50,000 Americans who die of suicide, largely due to mental illness, than those addicted to drugs or for those who “willingly” use drugs. Cutting their supply is not the complete answer.
Let us also remember that deaths via suicides and cigarettes would each dwarf the number of deaths in the last 10 years caused by the “bogeyman drug” fentanyl. And what is the U.S. government doing about those problems? We are also sending cigarettes around the world when we know they cause deaths. But we believe that people are smoking cigarettes willingly and at their own risk.
I also ask the following: Why would the president use the military to protect America from the influx of drugs when the U.S. Coast Guard is trained specifically to do the same task? It is like using the military to do the job of the police on our city streets. Instead, the administration should just increase funding for the Coast Guard. Both approaches would be cheaper than what Trump has been doing.
So, I will keep “my powder dry” to see who will pursue the truth before announcing this year’s winner or winners.
But in the meantime, here are some nominees:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Thune bucked Trump during the government shutdown. Trump wanted to remove the Senate filibuster – the requirement of 60 votes before voting on legislation. The purpose of the filibuster is to ensure bipartisanship in the Senate so one party cannot simply “rollover” the other.
Eight Democratic senators
These bold and brave senators bucked their party leaders and all the House Democrats by voting to end the federal government shutdown. The Democratic Party’s strategy was to hold the American people hostage until it got what it wanted. That was an ill-conceived approach which lacked a Plan B.
Four Republicans on the Epstein files
The four Republicans who bucked Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson on the release of the Epstein files also deserve credit. These courageous members of Congress got the wrath of the White House and were ostracized by many rank and file Republican members. But they won. The public and the victims are elated that the DOJ files on the sex predator Jeffrey Epstein will be released soon.
Six Democrats and their message about the Constitution
I never thought that the next six individuals would be placed on a list as having displayed a profile-of-courage moment. They were members of the House and Senate who served in the military or for one of our intelligence agencies who did a video expressing the obvious. They merely repeated what is the law of the land: “No one in the military is required to obey an unlawful command.” So, they deserve an honorable mention for the profile in courage award.
Somehow, however, their actions and comments did cause Trump to erupt in anger. He demanded that these folks suffer cruel penalties, including death. Trump’s response shows that he may have nefarious plans for small countries in the Western Hemisphere who are rich with natural resources. This is a 21st-Century expansionist agenda, and is clearly not “America First.”
It is important to note that in all the examples above those displaying courage have had the overwhelming support of the American people. Interesting – there is a reason for that.
The truth, and fighting for it, seem to be another central theme for the nominees.
In the movie “A Few Good Men,” actor Jack Nicholson famously exclaimed: “You can’t handle the truth.” Well, the American people not only can handle the truth, but actually they want to “hear the truth” from the mouths of our politicians. That would be refreshing.
Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org
©2025 Gary Franks. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.