A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership

by James B. Comey

The Life of Lies. The silent circle of assent. The boss in complete control. Loyalty oaths. An us-versus-them worldview.

His words about life and death meant someone was going to die. And the worst sin was betraying the family, becoming a “rat.”

He believed strangulation, which required the assistance of four other strong men, to be an honorable way to kill, in contrast to the cowardly use of a gun at a distance.

Evil has an ordinary face. It laughs, it cries, it deflects, it rationalizes, it makes great pasta.

Or maybe it was because I’d spent so many years on the outside of the group that I wanted in. I was one of the guys. Finally, I belonged.

But sometimes it isn’t when we face death ourselves, but rather when death takes away those we love the most, that we really learn about just how short our time on earth is and why what we do with that time matters.

I’ve seen many times over the years how liars get so good at lying, they lose the ability to distinguish between what’s true and what’s not. They surround themselves with other liars.