Putting the bitterness and inherent
divisiveness of politics aside for the moment, I have to clearly
state that John McCain was a genuine American hero and patriot. I am
not saying he was perfect or that I ever really agreed with his
political positions. The truth of the matter is that back in 2008
when McCain was the Republican nominee for president I cringed at the
thought of him handling the financial meltdown should he win the
election. And to be honest, I thought the man had lost his marbles
picking Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Despite the fact that I couldn't ever
support Senator McCain's positions on most issues, I never for a
minute doubted that he always had the best interests of the United
States as his ultimate goal. Politics is a dirty game that at times
forces good people to say and do things that they would otherwise
refuse to take part. The best we can hope for in democracies like
ours is that the people elect decent men and women who can come
together and forge a compromise that ultimately advances everyone's'
interests. I honestly believe John McCain the vast majority of the
time was one of those decent people.
Now it's easy to scoff at politicians
of all stripes and yes, elected office does seem to attract the
lowest common denominator types looking for an easy way to gain power
and influence. But in John McCain's case, no one can question his
devotion to the United States given what he endured as a prisoner of
war. Did he come from a privileged background? Yes, in a way since
being the son and grandson of U.S. Navy admirals surely wasn't a
hindrance to personal achievement. But the thing no one can deny was that he
honorably served his country, whereas many children of powerful
people just live off their trust funds or skate by doing as little as
possible avoiding danger and commitment at all costs.
No, I didn't agree with John McCain on
a lot of things. I personally feel some of his positions were
backwards and outright dangerous given the world we live. But the
thing is I believe that if a person agrees with any elected official
one-hundred percent of the time they very much need to reexamine
their way of thinking. John McCain was just a man, prone to mistakes
like us all. But he was a good man who truly loved his country and
will very much be missed.
3 comments:
Agree with you. My respect for him increased a few levels when he told the woman at one of his campaign rallies in 2007 that Obama was not a Muslim, that he was a good and decent American.
I remember how he was treated in South Carolina when he ran for the candidacy against Bush in the 2000 election (it was just before we moved to South Carolina).
Pixel: I sort of expect some flak for writing this post. And in truth I rarely said a kind word about McCain for years after he brought Palin on the national scene. I'm just tired of the partisan crap and, as i said several times, while I didn't agree with McCain, I'll cut the guys some slack.
I have always felt conflicted about McCain - some of the things that he said & did really made me scratch my head. But I definitely respected him. Who knows - maybe some of the really crazy stuff was because of the tumor. Although I think politics is just inherently crazy-making.
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