A Short Screed

I'm sure at this point we've all heard quite enough about Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who defied the Supreme Court.

I'll not rehash the details of the case.  You've read that all elsewhere.

I'll not go over the politics of the case, either.  You can probably guess my thoughts on that and you have your own.

I'll not be attacking Ms. Davis as a person, either.  I know about the nepotism and the divorces and her personal appearance, etc., that people seem to find quite amusing.  I also know that she's given water to thirsty protestors (against her) on hot days and that she visits prisoners every week.  We're all complicated people and everyone has their unsavory moments and their saintly ones.

But what I do want to say (and I'll try to keep it brief) is that Ms. Davis really fucked up on this one. 

I admire a person of principle.  Everyone admires a person of principle.  Ms. Davis is not a person of principle, at least not in this matter.

The law changes over time.  There will come times when a change in the law leads to a person no longer being able to fulfill the oath of office they stated.  That's understandable.  That happens.  "This is not what I signed up for" is a perfectly valid complaint.

If Ms. Davis was a woman of principle, she would have resigned her position in protest the moment the law changed.  As much as I disagree with her politics and beliefs, I would have admired that.  I think we all would have.  But the truth is we probably wouldn't have heard about it.

But Ms. Davis is not a person of principle.  She's a glory seeker.  An attention hog.  She wants to have her cake and eat it, too.  She wants to go on drawing the $80,000 salary of a county clerk without fulfilling her duties as one.  This is unseemly behavior and it has nothing to do with one's personal political or religious predilections to find it so.

A principled stand that was unconcerned with wealth or fame or personal glory, would be to step aside and refuse to do what is to you anathema.  To gum up the works, to make a public display of yourself, to involve lawyers and the media and protestors - this seems more like a calculated move to raise one's public profile.  Get a book deal, maybe a television show, at worst go on the lecture circuit.

And that's all I have to say on the matter.  But feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below.