Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times Highlight

“Reluctantly, I’ve come to the same conclusion. You don’t bring about change. You only bring pain on yourself.” It was an honest statement, born of experience, and it made me wonder what the law students in attendance had taken away from the event—a lesson on how not to derail their careers? On why they should scrupulously avoid drifting near “the razor’s edge”? Reporters like to imagine that stories of moral courage will inspire people as the uplifting tales of principled defiance cause the spirit of resistance to spread. But if the stories are told honestly and accurately, isn’t it just as likely the opposite will happen: that instead of growing, the ranks of those willing to risk their careers and stand on principle will dwindle? Darrel Vandeveld seemed to suggest as much. And yet when I asked him if he regretted what he’d done, he shook his head. “I’d be less than human if I were to deny that I regret some of the consequences that followed from it,” he said, “but the basic decision? No, I don’t.”