Bobby Goodlatte, the son of U.S. Representative Robert W. Goodlatte (R. Va.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, used Twitter to announce that he had donated the maximum amount to his father’s opponent in his district in rural Virginia. Bobby, a Silicon Valley investor and product designer, added, “2018 is the year to flip districts, let’s do this.” Bobby is disturbed about former FBI agent Peter Strzok’s dismissal, “I’m deeply embarrassed that Peter Strzok’s career was ruined by my father’s political grandstanding. That committee hearing was a low point for Congress.” Young Bobby received a number of invitations to Thanksgiving dinner in response to his tweets.
Dr. David S. Glosser, uncle of Stephen Miller, the architect of the Trump immigration agenda, wrote in an online essay that he has watched his nephew’s actions with “dismay and increasing horror.” Dr. Glosser argues that immigration is part of “our family’s life in this country,” and that his nephew’s involvement in politics may have made him “numb” to the “resultant human tragedy” and “blind to the hypocrisy” of the decisions he and President Trump are making.
The Barometer has no doubt that both son and uncle have strong feelings about FBI agents and immigration, respectively. However, there is a consideration here — that of family peace. And in the Goodlatte scenario, there is the ethical backdrop of honoring father and mother that thy days may be long upon the earth. Surely the ties that bind can overcome temporary political passions. The emotions of protecting FBI agents and immigrants can perhaps best be channeled into one-on-one discussions with the ones we love who happen to be in public life and who have a voice and access through which their relatives can be heard.
