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The Tribune
Roanoke, Virginia
What is this article about?
In an open letter, Sarah Patton Boyle defends Leander Shaw's moral integrity against a school board's decision based on compromising circumstances, arguing that one incident does not define a person's true character.
Merged-components note: Continuation across pages indicated by '(Continued to Page 8)' and matching title. Relabeled to letter_to_editor as it is a personal open letter defending a person's character.
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I think it is a shameful comment on the shakiness of our own moral integrity if we cannot, in the face of one set of compromising circumstances, retain our faith in a man of Leander Shaw's known character and enviable record of service.
Everyone who has had dealings with Mr. Shaw has both experienced and sensed his uprightness. Is there really one among us who can cast a stone at a man like that?
Is there really one who has never done anything which, if discovered inopportunely and slightly misconstrued, would not have shown him in a questionable light?
When I say "misconstrued" I intend no criticism of the school board. I know that they acted carefully in the light of all the facts in their possession and that they reluctantly reached a necessary decision.
They could not have done other than they did. But pure facts never give light enough to reveal a whole man.
I do not know what Mr. Shaw did in his particular case, or why. But I do know that I shall never be ashamed to call him a friend. The total man is taller and broader and deeper than any single incident in his life.
Can we who know Leander Shaw really doubt his essential integrity? If so, we make a sorry choice of values in setting the truth of a "fact" above the truth of a man.
SARAH PATTON BOYLE
Box 1183, Univ. Station
Charlottesville, Va.
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Letter to Editor Details
Author
Sarah Patton Boyle
Recipient
To The Public
Main Argument
despite compromising circumstances leading to a school board decision, leander shaw's overall character and integrity should not be doubted based on a single incident, as facts alone do not reveal the whole person.
Notable Details