The new secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, John F. Kelly, is by any standard an estimable figure — a distinguished retired Marine general whose Marine son died in Afghanistan.  He was widely regarded as one of Trump’s best cabinet picks.  His life story is mildly interesting to me because he’s the same age as me and from the same town (Brighton, Mass.).  It’s entirely possible we went to grammar school together, although I have no memory of him.

Now his agency is at the center of a firestorm of criticism over the enforcement of Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees.  Apparently he wasn’t consulted about the executive order before it was signed.  OK, fine.  But he’s going to enforce it, because good military men follow orders.

And now what?  I wonder if he’s pondering the fact that he is in the process of permanently tainting his life story.  That forever more, instead of puff pieces like the one I linked to above, stories about him are going to start by talking about how he was running DHS that time when families were ripped apart, when people who had helped the American military were placed in handcuffs at airports, when scientists coming to this country to help cure diseases were sent back to where they came from…. and he did nothing but follow orders.

I wonder if he’s worried that his grandchildren might possibly end up being ashamed of him.

If he’s not worried about this, I kinda think he should be.