The Antithesis of the Honor Code

I join the community of those horrified at the role Princeton alumnus Senator Ted Cruz played in the attempted coup against the U.S. government and attack on the U.S. Capitol building by white supremacists and others. Cruz’s years-long assault on the truth, often punching down against those less privileged than him, contravenes the very concept of public service. Whatever Princeton’s “honor code” may mean, Cruz has brought the antithesis of its spirit to the public arena for too long. His hate-mongering and grandstanding is draped in a brand of pernicious sophistry that is mirrored by the myth of Ivy League superiority and its mirror image, cynical anti-elitism that attempts to cloak incuriosity and demagoguery. I urge our community to be active seekers of the truth from ideologically diverse sources, and to reject passive confirmation of biases that serve the interests of the fortunate few to the detriment of the honorable many.