Standing firm

The idea of standing out of the crowd with firm convictions sounds scary to me. Yet, reading about those who stand firm always catches my attention.From the school library I read the biography of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, a Hungarian physician and scientist. He agonized over the high death rate of new mothers on the hospital ward run by doctors compared to the ward under the care of mid-wives. In 1847, he observed one difference: the doctors performed autopsies and then delivered babies without washing their hands. The mid-wives performed no autopsies. He insisted the doctors must use a special wash before examining each patient. The death rate dropped from 18 percent to 2 percent. In that era before the discovery of germs, Semmelweis could not explain why washing made the difference. His colleagues hated him and saw no reason for all the hand washing. They mocked and ostracized him. He died in 1865 just as Louis Pasteur began writing papers on his discovery of germs and their deathly impact. I was reminded of his biography again twice in recent years. First in January 2021. At that time President Donald Trump refused to accept the validity of the 2020 election. He insisted that Vice-president Mike Pence should declare the votes invalid and refuse to accept them. Through research into Constitutional law, Vice-President Mike Pence concluded that the Constitution spoke louder than President Trump. Pence determined he only had a ceremonial role of accepting the votes. He would not invalidate what others had verified. Many disagreed, some even to the point of traveling to Washington to protest his decision. As Pence stood in front of Congress ready to accept the election results, a crowd outside chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.” When the crowd surged past the police barriers, security guards urged Pence to leave the building. He insisted he stay and finish his mandated task. For the next several hours, he, his wife, daughter and others waited in a safe location in the building. Once authorities secured the Capitol, he returned to the hall and accepted the election results. In the face of death threats, the end of his political career and ostracization, Pence chose to honor his oath to uphold the Constitution.I admire his commitment.Recently another person from that day caught my attention: “MAGA Grandma” Pamela Hemphill, now in her 70s. On Jan 6, 2021 she joined the crowd in pushing against and then crossing the police barriers. In the press of the crowd, she fell. Others walked on her until the police pulled her up. Eight months later she was arrested. She confessed to one misdemeanor (other charges were dropped) and served 60 days in jail followed with three years of probation. When Donald Trump called her punishment “Horrible” she disagreed, “I am not a victim of January 6. I pleaded guilty because I was guilty.” As she rehashed the events with other protestors, she discovered other information that slowly changed her. After his recent inauguration, President Trump pardoned all 1,500 who charged the Capitol that day. Hemphill, now in her 70s, rejected the pardon saying, “I broke the law that day, period.” She further added that taking a pardon now in the light of her actions “would be a slap in the face of the Capitol police officers, to the rule of law and to our whole nation.” Probation prohibits her from leaving her home state to return to Washington. She wants to shake the hands of the police who served that day.Other protestors, still approving their January 6 activities, rejected her contributions on their websites. “They eventually had me leave,” she said.At different times and in different circumstances, all three, Semmelweis, Pence and Hemphill studied the situation, the information and made decisions with ramifications. I applaud them for that.