Contrasts in Courage

Hypocrites say one thing but do another, saying what they say because they know it’s right, doing what they do because it’s conveniently advantageous. Nearly four centuries ago, a French duke summed up hypocrisy as the compliment vice pays to virtue. There’s no better definition.

Two passings of note bring this to mind. One just passed the torch, the other recently passed on from this world. One personifies the pursuit of convenient advantage. The other’s words and deeds were in a rare state of harmony. One is bossed while in possession of immense power. The other remained defiantly free while held in captivity. One is exalted in rank but diminished in stature. The other was beaten down and ultimately snuffed out but is larger than life.

One is Mitch McConnell. The other is Alexei Navalny.

McConnell is cunning and crafty, a brilliant political strategist whose unrivaled mastery of Senate rules and procedures put colleagues—and often the institution itself—under his spell and at his mercy…