Speaking truth to power is rarely popular.
It means believing deeply in what you say, and fighting every day to have that heard.
It means taking a risk, standing for something, being a leader.
It means governing.
And in Chattanooga and Tennessee in recent weeks we've seen it.
First there was U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.
Corker, a Republican and a former Chattanooga mayor, stood before his hometown Rotary Club and later in front of a gaggle of reporters in August and said Trump has not "demonstrated the stability" or "competence" to be a successful president. Corker said the nation will be "in peril" unless there are "radical changes" at the White House.
This week he doubled down on his earth-moving comments.
On Wednesday a Capitol Hill reporter and videographer caught up with Corker in Washington to ask if he still stands by those comments.
A steely-eyed Corker paused for a moment before saying, "You know, I don't make comments without thinking about them."
Reviewing Corker's comments Wednesday evening on MSNBC, Nicolle Wallace, a former White House communications director for George W. Bush and a senior adviser for the McCain–Palin campaign, said Corker deserves a profile in courage award for being "the one man who will say out loud what we all know a lot of people say privately."
Noting that Corker was a Trump ally and was considered a potential vice president and cabinet member, Wallace said, "He has seen [Trump] up close. If he has reached the conclusion - and that was a pained man, that was not comfortable, he did not like saying that - but that was some sense of duty to say out loud what we all know a lot of people say privately."
And yes, of course, it begs the question: When will the rest of the Republican Congress members and Trump's cabinet take their heads out of the sand and speak truth to power?
Another Tennessean speaking truth to power this week is Gov. Bill Haslam.
Haslam on Thursday urged members of Congress to "move quickly to stabilize" the individual health insurance market and mount "a serious effort" to curb health care costs as they seek ways to keep the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare from imploding.
Our state's top Republican told the Senate Health Committee, chaired by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., that Congress should take steps now to prevent the total collapse of the health insurance market by funding cost-share reduction payments by creating a short-term reinsurance program to limit losses to ACA insurers and provide more flexibility to states.
"All of us - Republicans, Democrats and independents - should agree that our current path is not a sustainable one," Haslam said.
Haslam was one of five Republican and Democratic governors testifying Thursday. On Wednesday, five state insurance commissioners, including Tennessee Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Nix McPeak, testified.
You might recall that Alexander was part of the Senate's panel that in secret wrote the so-called replacement bills for Obamacare - all of which would have ripped insurance away from millions of Americans and all of which failed to pass the Senate. Alexander said his goal in holding these new public hearings is to produce "limited, bipartisan and balanced legislation" to help an estimated 18 million Americans afford their health insurance next year.
Even in Hamilton County, leadership fought its way forward in recent days.
Kudos are due for the 8-1 Hamilton County Commission vote this week to raise property taxes and pay-it-forward on county education, growth and public safety.
No one wants to pay taxes. Any taxes, let alone higher taxes. But having a great community to live in is not free.
There is no free lunch, or free schools. Sewage won't go away by itself, and we can't have law and order without humane, clean and safe jails. New industries will not bring new jobs here if our young people can't read and follow work instructions or if trucks carrying supplies in and products out cannot traverse our roads.
So when the commission voted Wednesday to increase property taxes for many of us (and the Chattanooga City Council is expected to vote Tuesday to do the same,) our local officials asked us to make a down payment on the future improvement of Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
The county's tax increase will bring in an extra $25.5 million a year that will be used to borrow money for $100 million in school construction and repairs, a $45 million new wastewater treatment facility in northeastern portion of Hamilton County and a $20 million or $30 million expansion of Silverdale Correctional Facility. The new tax rate will help pay for modernizing the city's technological infrastructure and boosting citywide paving services.
Additionally, the city and county leaders embraced Tennessee tax relief and senior tax freeze programs. That means that the most vulnerable of Hamilton County's elderly and disabled residents may receive property tax payment assistance in the future.
Not all of government is broken.