I was deeply moved by Sen. Mitt Romney’s statement before he cast his vote to convict President Trump on one article of impeachment.
Romney voted according to his conscience and heart, his love for his country, his commitment to the United States Constitution, and his deep and as he shared with us, “profound,” faith in God.
When I listened to him, I was reminded of the title of President John Kennedy’s book, “Profiles in Courage.”
I was also reminded of Romney’s father, Gov. George Romney of Michigan, whom I had the honor and pleasure of meeting during a school field trip to the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.
Gov. Romney welcomed each of us and our teacher so warmly. My classmates and I got to talk to him. I remember Gov. Romney vividly, and deeply cherish meeting him and my conversation with him. Gov. Romney left a lasting impression as a kind and deeply caring human being.
Gov. Romney, like his son Sen. Romney, was a distinguished governor and was a man of impeccable integrity and principles. His governorship was based on serving the people, ordinary citizens like you and me.
Gov. Romney, like Sen. Romney, was an exceptional leader, who did not shirk from challenging situations, even when they were of a grave nature.
During the 1967 summer race riots in Detroit, Gov. Romney drove into the heart of Detroit, met and talked with community leaders, walked the streets of Detroit and, through his presence and commitment to the people of the community, helped to broker a peace in the city.
Gov. Romney, like Sen. Romney, was highly respected for his addressing the issues on a bipartisan basis. Gov. Romney was a leader in the civil rights movement in Michigan, and was an effective and strong leader on integrating schools.
Gov. Romney, like Sen. Romney, spoke the truth as he saw it. He visited Vietnam during the war on a fact-finding trip which he initiated. When he came back to the United States, he was asked what he found.
Gov. Romney replied that, like so many Americans, he had been “brainwashed” by government officials in both the U.S. and Vietnam about the justification for the war. Gov. Romney spoke the truth, as his own deep faith and conscience required him to speak the truth.
I also remember Gov. Romney, on each Labor Day, leading the pack of Michiganians (or Michiganders) walk across the beautiful and majestic light-blue five-mile suspension Mackinac Bridge which connects the Lower Peninsula of Michigan with the Upper Peninsula at two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
Senator Romney, I and the people of our beloved nation, the United States of America, salute you.
To the great people of Salt Lake City and the state of Utah, I salute you for being very fortunate to have such a distinguished and exceptional senator.
Like Sen. Romney and Gov. Romney, let us together work hard and uphold the highest values of our beloved nation, for our children and grandchildren, and for all generations to come.
The present and future of our nation and our world depend on it.
Anh Lê is an independent journalist based in California.