America lost a great voice with the death of Senator John McCain. I may not have always agreed with his ideology but I respected the man. He was a true patriot. He was willing to compromise, to listen. He played nicely with Democrats. In a time where many, honestly most, politicians disappoint, he stood head and shoulders above the fray. When asked how he wanted to be remembered, his response was "He served his country, he wasn't always the best, he made mistakes, but he served. And if honorably could be added, that would be good. I would say that he more than deserved the adjective.
He led a full life. He was a hell-raiser in his youth, graduated fifth from the bottom in his Naval Academy class was shot down in Vietnam and held as a POW for nearly 6 years. He was given the opportunity for release due to his father's prominence but refused to leave until his men were all released. He has had a stellar career as a Senator for Arizona and had 2 failed runs for the presidency, losing the nomination to George W Bush and the office to Barrack Obama. He has been happily married for 38 years and has 7 children who he loves dearly. When he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, he met it with his trademark courage and optimism. He stated that every life has to end but that he had lived a better life than anyone and that this gave him an opportunity to celebrate it. He would have joy and be grateful for every bit of additional time he was given.
Listening to people who knew him reminisce these past few days has proven just exactly the quality of man he was. He was humble. An aide recollected how before a speech, he came and supplicated himself, bowing his head to have his hair brushed. His arm had been broken so many times as a POW, he couldn't lift it high enough to comb his own hair. He went on to wow the crowd, the aid went backstage to weep. He was funny. During a plane ride during horrible turbulence, the press and his aides were so worried that women were actually crying in fear. John stood in the middle of the aisle, glass of vodka in his hand, telling them that the fates wouldn't get him with a plane. He had been shot down too many times and survived, no worries. He was one of the 3 Amigos. John, Senator Lindsey Graham, and former Senator Joe Lieberman. They were very different; religiously, geographically, in their experience. They set the tone in foreign policy, an issue that took them on travels around the globe and led to the cultivation of a long-lasting friendship that lasted beyond the halls of the Senate. They found common ground among the parties and proved that work and friendship could exist in DC. He was a maverick. One aide made the comparison to the Senior Bush. Working for George HW Bush was like being a member of the British Royal Navy. Working for John McCain was like being part of the Pirates of the Caribbean. He was a mentor. He was always available to young politicians on The Hill. His advice always included, no matter what, do the right thing. And if they didn't, he would let them hear about it. He was fair and decent. At a campaign rally, one of his supporters stood up and began ranting racist thoughts about his opponent Barrack Obama. He grabbed the mike away and said, not here. You will not speak of another man in this way at my event. He set the tone for the campaign. He was an American Folk Hero.
People around the country, around the world, are paying their respects to this man and sending their condolences to his family. Flags around the country have been lowered. At a time when Trump could have laid their rivalry at rest, honored this great American Patriot, he chose to be petty instead. He refused to allow an official White House statement release and ordered the White House flags to be raised after 48 hours. An outcry from around the country and inside his own administration made him reverse both of these stands late. He wanted to make certain attention stayed on him. He distracted but the response was so negative that while it may have been about him for the moment, he only shines the spotlight on his faults and on the honor of McCain. Definitely not his intention. Plus, McCain released his own statement taking a parting shot at the President and his fellow Congressmen to remember why they are actually in Washington and who they are supposed to serve:
My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,
"Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.
"I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else's.
"I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America's causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life's fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.
"'Fellow Americans' – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.
"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.
"We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.
"Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.
I feel it powerfully still.
"Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.
"Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."
America lost a great voice. Thank you, Senator John McCain. You will be sorely missed.
MY favorite quotes courtesy of John McCain:
Our shared values define us more than our differences. And acknowledging those shared values can see us through our challenges today if we have the wisdom to trust in them again.
I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's.
We cannot forever hide the truth about ourselves, from ourselves.
But we should be mindful as we argue about our differences that so much more unites than divides us. We should also note that our differences, when compared with those in many, if not most, other countries, are smaller than we sometimes imagine them to be.
The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. It sometimes causes us difficulties at home and abroad. It is sometimes used by our enemies in attempts to hurt us. But the American people are entitled to it, nonetheless.
The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. It sometimes causes us difficulties at home and abroad. It is sometimes used by our enemies in attempts to hurt us. But the American people are entitled to it, nonetheless.
America's greatest strength has always been its hopeful vision of human progress.
Depriving the oppressed of a beacon of hope could lose us the world we have built and thrived in. It could cost our reputation in history as the nation distinct from all others in our achievements, our identity, and our enduring influence on mankind. Our values are central to all three
The first role of government is to help people who are in crisis or need. That's why we have government.
If you want to preserve - I'm very serious now - if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That's how dictators get started.
War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.
We are a country with a conscience.
Is there anything more heartbreakingly sad or hauntingly beautiful depending on your mood than a single balloon flying away? Possibly a flower growing through a crack in concrete but off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else.
December 7, 2017
Once again we acknowledge A Day That Will Live in Infamy. Pearl Harbor Day and My Birthday. If you ever get the chance to visit Pearl Harbor, DO! It is such an emotional spot. Catches you off guard. It's a burial ground. The watery grave of servicemen. The single spot of oil that still rises to the service makes it all too real. It's so easy to imagine that Sunday morning; most everyone was still asleep, a few getting ready for church or eating breakfast, enjoying a calm, beautiful Hawaii morning. A disturbance, an unfamiliar noise, bombs dropping. Fire, screams, panic. Death. Hopelessness and acts of bravery. A cowardly act by a nation who claims to value honor above all. Greed ruled their actions that morning. They did indeed wake the sleeping dragon and the US entered the war. We should have before but it took an act of terrorism to open our eyes to the reality of a world at war. Our innocence was shattered, we showed our strength. We came together with our allies and earned peace again. Too late, at too high of a cost for the Jews but at least we stood as one after that Sunday morning.
September 12, 2017
Yesterday was the 16th anniversary of 9/11. Everyone has their own story; where they were, what they remember. Of course I do too. Our stories are all similar, it was the day we lost some of our innocence. The day we realized that America could be breached, we weren't invincible. The pain we shared that day has been carried forward ever since. So have the feelings of togetherness, of strength. We may disagree on politics, sports or religion the rest of the year, but for one day each year we are all simply Americans. Yesterday, I had the privilege of witnessing a special moment. I live near a Fire Department. On my way to work, the firemen had turned on the lights on their engines and were coming out for a moment of silence honoring their first responder brothers. Across the street from the station standing in the grass at the edge of the road was an elderly man. He stood ramrod straight with the American flag on a flagpole. He held it high in salute. The simple dignity and grace he showed honoring the firefighters brought me to tears. Such a simple act, yet so powerful. Humans can be lovely.
July 20, 2017
Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park hung himself today. He had suffered from depression and addiction most of his life. Two months earlier he sang at the graveside funeral of his good friend. He had returned early from a family vacation claiming that he needed to work. He hung himself that afternoon. according to his family and friends, he was on top of the world; in better condition than he had been his entire life. Linkin Park had a new album, he was planning a reunion tour with his first band, he was writing, he was making plans. I personally watched an interview a month before his death. He was creative optimistic sounding. But his 'dark passenger' apparently took over. He relapsed. He called his addiction a true hour by hour struggle. Even when life was good, he was uncomfortable. For some it becomes too much, gets too hard. We've lost so many artists that meant something to me personally over the last year, Prince, David Bowie, But Chester's death may have hurt the most. Linkin Park helped me during my separation and divorce. Chester sang with an angel on one shoulder, a devil on the other. Beauty and pain. Their music helped me. I embraced the anger, pain, glimpsed the hope. They never pulled punches. Life can be ugly; people do bad things, they hurt you. You personally can fall, can fail. Their music is raw, powerful, honest. Chester's voice is amazing; powerful, gritty, vulnerable. He can scream one moment, hit a perfect, soft note the next. Linkin Park's music fills me. His voice moves me. I have a hard time accepting that it's over. I hope that he finds peace in the Afterlife. He has earned it.
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