Requiem For John McCain
As we all know by now, John McCain died earlier today (Saturday). This was not a surprise. In recent days we knew that the end of his life was nearing.
When Senator McCain ran for president I did not vote for him. I was cheering on the young Senator from Illinois whose father was African and his mother white. There was a vibrancy in the air about hope and change. John McCain was 71 and I was very tired of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove running our government as an entitlement program for the wealthy plus the thought of Sarah Palin as a possible president scared the crap out of me. Little did I know, at that point in time, what was to come 8 years later.
Yet the one moment I will always remember from that presidential race was not a fragment of an Obama speech or Joe Biden talking about Scranton. What I will remember and stands so clearly, so succinctly, in my mind was John McCain telling the bitter old woman at one of his rallies that Barack Obama was not a Muslim or a Kenyan, but a good American family man. That phrase, that moment, is the essence of what America should be about; decorum and respect. People may have their ideological differences and we are certainly not going to all agree on much of anything, but when we talk, when we listen and respect each other, we can find common ground. It’s not easy. It never is, but I knew at that instant, that if Barack Obama lost the election, we would still all be okay.
On the occasion of Senator McCain’s death there is sense that we should take a moment away from politics to reflect on his life and pay tribute to a true American war hero. The issue with that is that the majority of his life was politics, his whole being was centered on the legislative process and moving forward an agenda, that again I did not necessarily agree with, but was one that I could at least listen to and understand, knowing full well that he had no other agenda except to make life in America better for everyone. So as I mourn the loss of this quintessential statesman I cannot help but see his character in juxtaposition with the vulgarian currently holding the position he sought to fill those 10 years ago. John McCain’s passing diminishes us all, but if his legacy can teach us anything, it is that we must work together and find solutions that work for all. The person who now holds the title of President is doing his best to destroy everything that John McCain stood for. And that is the true American tragedy.
This is a guest post from a friend Tobin Fraley, posted with his permission. I resonate with these words as do many other Americans. Senator McCain was a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton complex beginning in 1967. He remained loyal to his sworn oath to defend our country by not acceding to the demands of his torturers. He even refused early release unwilling to leave his fellow imprisoned airmen behind. I cannot imagine how difficult that must have been. He maintained his sound mind, his reason by refusing to give in. We now are confronted by a demand as Americans that we give up our reason under threats of violence by the Trump administration.
If John McCain kept his integrity so can we.
A man who is of ‘sound mind’ is one who keeps his inner madman under lock and key.–Paul Valery
