Morality trumps service to country

Anybody remember Richard Nixon? A truly accomplished president except for that one teeny little incident called Watergate.

The letters over the last few weeks have extolled the virtues of Mark Kirk's military service. There is no doubt about whether his service was honorable. The problem is he lied about that service and his civilian resume.

There is no other word that describes what he has offered. You can "misremember" one thing, maybe two. When the volume of significant falsehoods and embellishments passes the half-a-dozen mark it becomes a lie.

I still remember my first job 50 years later, and I suspect most of us do too. I remember exactly what I was doing in Vietnam 42 years later, and I suspect that the millions of veterans that served there also remember. I guess the difference is that we are not running for political office.

This nation deserves to be represented by men and women of the highest integrity. There are some levels of morality that override one's service. Good work and integrity are not synonymous.

James Prescott

Schaumburg