I have no great spiritual beliefs pertaining to death. For me, it is nothing more than the natural consequence of life and the end of our being. I'm not much for many of our rituals surrounding death either, but I do believe that a human death of someone familiar to us, can and often does give us a good stopping point- a place to pause and evaluate the life we have against the backdrop of another's life just ended. The death of Senator John McCain gives us one of those moments to pause and reflect on how the life he lived can provide valuable and useful lessons in our lives.
John McCain lived an incredible life. He would be the first to tell you that it was not a perfect life. Born and raised by high ranking Naval Officers in a family that lived in that tradition McCain followed suit into the Navy. He attended the Naval Academy where he graduated as Naval Aviator and Fighter Pilot, very near the bottom of his class. He once described his early career as one of being a "playboy-pilot". He had several mishaps while a Navy pilot and was never considered a very reliable officer by his superiors. He served the Navy by flying fighter missions in Viet Nam, and was eventually shot down and captured by the enemy. His time in captivity is well documented, so I won't try to reconstruct it here, nor could I do it justice. But his period of confinement, torture, and hellish existence for five and a half years forged his character and his duty to serve his country. Coming from a privileged Navy family he could have been freed much earlier, but refused his freedom so others could be released before him.
In death we all have a tendency to apply saintly characteristics to those departed who are close to us, and those we admire as exemplary. John McCain was surely exemplary, but he would never allow us to make him a saint. He was quick to acknowledge his mistakes and to publicly state his contrition. He possessed a monumental sense of patriotism and a willingness to work closely with members of the opposition party as a Senator. He was famous for his camaraderie with Ted Kennedy, Russ Fiengold, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and a host of other Democratic Senators when they served together. He not only joined them in putting forth legislation, he befriended them. This willingness to see beyond party lines cost him some support from his own party in 2008 when he ran for President. Of course, he never had much of chance of becoming president following the disastrous terms of George W. Bush. President Bush left two wars unresolved and a global financial meltdown in his wake. No Republican was going to follow that presidency. McCain, however, did not shrink that major defeat. Instead he remained a force in the Senate.
For all of Senator McCain's brilliant, or courageously valiant feats in life he had as many mistakes or defeats. He was involved with the Keating Five Savings and Loan scandal, marital infidelity during his first marriage, and a host of political foibles. In person he could be kind, generous, engaging and affable- with a famous sense of humor. He could also be cold, demanding, intolerant, irascible, and given to flashes of immense anger. No one ever said he was insane- he was just being a human being who suffered like few others had- but also cared for his country like few others had. For anyone (like me) who so strongly disagreed on many of his political stands, there was no room to doubt his pure intentions.
So, as we stop and pause to consider his life we must ask if he was the last holdout for decency in our leadership. He reviled our current president, not for the childish insults Trump made toward him personally, but because Trump himself is an insult to the values of patriotism and service that defines our country- and John McCain. Those who claim to admire Senator McCain cannot do so with any moral validity or credibility, unless they truly emulate his disdain for our current president. Senator McCain's disdain was not based on political values- it was based on the essence of a man who has no sense of patriotism or love of country. Trump, as a person, is beyond redemption. There is nothing in his character to suggest he could or would learn anything from the life John McCain lived. Trump is an anomaly- a man and a president who will be seen as the worst mistake the American people ever made. (Note:it may still be shown he was not legally or legitimately elected) But, for now the legacy of John McCain should be that those in Congress- Particularly the United States Senate, can honor John McCain by standing up to Trump, as he did. They can make a stand for decency.
Over the last year and a half the only Republicans in Congress who are willing to say "the Emperor has no clothes" are those who have decided not to run for re-election. The rest, including all those in Republican leadership positions (like my own Representative, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers) have shown themselves to be sycophants and cowards. I hope this is not another occasion when these cowards talk of their admiration for John McCain- then turn away from the example he set for them. In this polarized atmosphere where party and loyalty have replaced principles and values, John McCain's death may give us the last chance for re-establishing decency we will see in some time. Our leaders in both party's must embrace and practice the exercise of principles, like he did. If they can do that there will be some hope that decency will return. At least, I certainly hope so.
Thanks for looking in.
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