A feel-good treat in TAH’s Christmas stocking
Like many of you, when I first heard of Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state, I was a bit uneasy. I’m a capitalist, to be sure, but I’ve always tempered my enthusiasm for the principle with a strong sense of distrust of those who rise to its highest levels of leadership for the simple reason that common sense will tell you that you have to be a bit of a shark to survive the process. So when Donald announced that his SecState will be the CEO of one of the largest corporations on the planet, my antennae began to quiver.
Now, just in time to add some harmony to our holidays, comes this recounting, originally published in the Dallas Morning News, from Texas small business owner Emily Roden, published on Christmas Eve by The Daily Caller, of her service as a juror for a criminal trial in North Texas several years ago. A fellow juror was a tall, distinguished, silver-haired gentleman with an aura of command about him. For that, his fellow jurors wanted him to serve as foreman, but he demurred, indicating he’d be satisfied simply to serve as one of the jury. It was about then that the other jurors discovered that the fellow, who looked as though he could have played a wealthy oilman on Dallas, was, in fact, just that: a wealthy oilman from Dallas. He was Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil.
What Ms. Roden – who, by the way, did not vote for Trump – goes on to recount about Mr. Tillerson and his impact on seeing that justice was done by that undecided jury makes for a very nice, warm, fuzzy read for Christmas Day. I won’t steal anyone’s thunder by revealing the Christmas treat here, but I think if you click in there and read Roden’s account, you will not only feel better about Donald Trump’s selection, but maybe even feel better about the world around you for a bit. May this make your Christmas better – it did mine.
Merry Christmas, all y’all!
Crossposted at American Thinker
Category: Politics
I read this when it first came out, and join you in feeling better about my fellow citizens, and the President-Elect’s pick.
My impression of Trump as an exec has improved since he started making his cabinet choices, and this was his best choice yet.
Why anyone would try to label Tillerson in such a heinous way escapes me, other than the usual juvenile attempts to discredit someone ‘just because’. I think he will be a good SecState, and I wish him well.
I’m kind of curious who the new Secretary of the VA is going to be. I think the current guy is doing the best he can. The VA is a massive bureaucracy. It may never be fully tamed.
at one point someone floated an obvious trial balloon of Sarah Palin… I think even poor illiterate people in the deepest Outback who had never heard of her cringed.
She would be an excellent choice. She has family with military service, and she has the executive skills to get the job done.
Don’t be jumping on the faux-Palin narrative that the left keeps trotting out. She isn’t a stupid or gullible woman.
This country could be well-served by Sarah Palin’s appointment to run any of a number of organizations or departments.
Touching story but I am not surprised.
Honorable people come from all walks of life.
Military service is a good example.
I wish him well and hope he can help turn this ship around.
I think what strikes me most in the account on the DailyCaller is that this man, who undoubtedly had a busy schedule, was willing to take time out from his CEO position at ExxonMobile to perform his civic duty on a jury. He didn’t do this to get on this particular trial; he responded to a routine jury summons, was questioned by both prosecution and defense attornies, and was selected to serve on this jury with other responsible citizens. Given who he was, I suspect he could have easily side-stepped the summons, probably with numerous valid reasons why he could not serve. Instead he stepped up to fulfill a routine responsibility of citizenship. And apparently he was instrumental in helping bring a criminal to justice.
Trump has made a damn fine selection.
I’m more befuddled about his choice for Secretary of the Interior.
When those who disagree with you politically decide to write on your behalf because they are disgusted with how their political allies have described you, I’d tend to believe you’re someone who has been doing the right things for quite some time.
Kudos to Ms. Emily Roden for having the courage to write honestly about what she knows to be true regardless of her political leanings. There are an awful lot of journalists who could learn a strong lesson from this simple, and honest, story from a small business owner who voted for Clinton. Thank you Ms. Roden for affirming our faith in our fellow Americans to do what’s right, not what’s easy.
I read this when it first came out as well. A good read.
FWIW, Mrs. G inherited stock in Exxon Mobil, so I’ve gotten to read the annual reports for some time. I’ve watched how Mr. T has led the company, and been pleased overall with his decisions. When I first heard of his nomination, I was very pleased with the choice.