The Foreign Service Journal, October 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2016 19 speech that includes a proposal that could merit any of these actions is not the same as a policy directive to be fol- lowed or rejected. In the event that such a proposal becomes policy, each of us will have to determine what our personal red line is to merit rejecting it. This will vary, not just on the basis of personal judgment, but on rank, position and responsibili- ties. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, the police chief in Dachau likely reached a point of personal moral responsibility for regime actions long before the postman did. A Conversation Needed I started this piece with the observa- tion that this is a particularly difficult year to remain nonpartisan. In the end, it hasn’t wound up that way for me. I find one candidate for president to be completely unacceptable in fundamen- tal, unalterable ways. (I’m comfortable stating this, despite the thrust of this article, because from the Army to the Department of State my social network is broad enough to include people who would say that about either major candidate in this election; so my state- ment is actually more ambiguous than it seems to any one reader.) But that abso- lute abhorrence for one electoral option drives home for me how important it is that I not participate, for the sake of my professionalism. This is a sensitive topic and my position is a relatively extreme one, so I know it won’t be for everyone. I’ve made the case here for my answer, but my real hope in writing this is that we have a conversation or at least some introspection about the question: How much public political participation is appropriate for the professional Foreign Service to remain truly nonpartisan? n Take AFSAWith You! Change your address online, visit us at www.afsa.org/address Or Send changes to: AFSAMembership Department 2101 E Street NW Washington, DC 20037 Moving?