Illustration: Betrayal

In Saratoga, N.Y., there is a strange monument. It is comprised of a sculpture of a boot and an inscription of praise that never mentions by name the one being memorialized. The monument is in honor of Benedict Arnold, a brave Revolutionary War general before he became a traitor. His actions helped avoid disaster at the battle of Saratoga. When Arnold tried to sell out West Point Colonial Fort, he became a traitor. He later commanded a redcoat army against the colonists. He later went to England, where a few praised him, but most reviled him. He was given land in Canada, but that did not help him find any security or comfort in his latter days.

Someone thought Arnold deserved some kind recognition for his early bravery; but because he was anathema, his name never was mentioned on the inscription his boot was memorialized because he had been wounded in the leg in battle. That's the way it is for traitors: Whatever good they might have done is obscured by the act of betrayal. Judas learned and taught that lesson.