The Conservative View: Never Wrong to do Right

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Never Wrong to do Right

I believe that whenever anyone has reached the end of their rope, it is a time for a person to set down and think about his problems and what the solutions may be. I have found from personal experience that you can get so busy that it is easy to forget what our founding values are. I have seen people who justify about any behavior because they think that the ends justify the means. Stretching the truth, turning a blind eye to improper behavior, does nothing but degrade the fabric of our society. Occasionally all of us at one time or the other has had the privilege to make the acquaintance of someone that has chosen the path of honesty and integrity. Just a few days ago I had the fortune to meet such a person.

I am a County Commissioner from Oklahoma, and recently I attended a trade show in Oklahoma City. There were vendors from all sorts of companies there to display their products with the hope of gaining new customers from various counties in our state. One of the vendors made a profound impression upon me. When someone has integrity it shows, there seems to be a twinkle in the eye of the person that possesses it. This individual is an elderly man that started a culvert pipe business many years ago; he still works in the business with his two sons. We talked about the state that our country is degrading into and his simple words of wisdom are something that we all can learn from. He told me that his father taught him that it is never right to do wrong and it is never wrong to do right. We talked about some of the practices in the past where elected officials expected companies to funnel money back to them if they purchased government equipment from them. I can remember back in the 1980’s many county commissioners went to prison for that kick-back scheme. I can only imagine the pressure on a struggling business when the owner played by the rules and refused to take part in an illegal practice that many other companies engaged in.

Sometimes the simple approach is the best. Many Americans have bought into the idea that all of our problems can be solved with more money, in reality we have a shortage of integrity. Integrity and honesty is the core belief of us conservatives. Sometimes doing the right thing is not the popular thing to do but I agree that it is never wrong to do the right.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.