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Hi there everyone,
For me, this week always starts on a sad note, i.e. the anniversary of the death of Sen and former Naval Lt Cmdr - John S McCain III.
Some Americans dispute the heroic status bestowed upon this former POW from the Vietnam War, but let me ask you something...
What is more heroic: avoiding capture without major mishap, or choosing to endure captivity and constant physical torture to an already badly injured body - over nearly 6 years - just for the sake of keeping military secrets and preserving national security?
I mean, he did have a choice... he could have relented and as long as he and his captors had kept their mouths shut, we would never have known the reason for his sudden release.
Put yourself in his place: a high-ranking naval officer, from a prestigious military family, a person of privilege, fighting a very unpopular war for a most critical nation, with an easy way out... would you have had the guts and moral conviction to stay and endure the torture, for a nation that continued to criticize every single thing you did over there for them?
I don't know you personally, but I'm not so sure that you would. And I bet neither are you.
So what is a hero? For some, it's a soldier who risks life and limb to fight for a country that can't clearly justify why it's at war.
For others, it's a first-responder who runs towards danger to save lives whilst everyone else is fleeing the scene.
Some say it's a wide-receiver who sprints, spins, fakes and soars his way over 40+ yards to a game-saving (or better still, -winning) touchdown.
Or how about an athlete who eaks out victory at the Olympics despite injury and/or tough, maybe even superior opposition?
Two common threads tie all of these heroic scenarios together: personal sacrifice and strength of character.
As a POW, Lt Cmdr McCain exhibited both of these traits for a sustained period... period!
Along with his rare strength of character, Sen McCain would later show us his integrity during the 2008 presidential campaign.
At a Republican rally, an elderly lady stood up to speak and referred to then Sen Obama as an "Arab".
Now this was an enviable opportunity for Sen McCain to capitalize on this lady's faux-pas by making all kinds of disparaging remarks about Middle-Easterners and branding all of them as terrorists or allies of Al Qaeda, without having to risk slander by explicitly agreeing that Sen Obama was Arabic or Muslim.
It would have been a stroke of under-handed political genius and a major psychological victory for the GOP, but Sen McCain knew that it was the wrong thing to do. He wanted to win, but he wanted to do it the right way.
So instead he corrected the lady (several times, in fact - because she was convinced that she was right) and informed her that Sen Obama was neither Arabic nor Muslim.
Some may have seen that moment as a golden opportunity squandered by one not schooled in the art of politics.
I regard it as yet another defining moment in the life of this heroic gentleman - such was the measure of his manhood.
In closing, Sen McCain lived a life of teachable moments... moments in which he led by example, showing us the true definition of a hero.
Through his sacrificial choices he taught us that a hero is someone who gets going when the going gets tough... who remains steadfast in his/her resolve and stays the course, taking comfort in the knowledge that right is on his/her side as he/she faces what seems to be insurmountable odds.
Yes, a hero does what is right - not when it is easy to do so, but when it is hard. Or not when everyone else is watching, but when only that person, their conscience and Almighty God will know what really happened.
Each of us should therefore feel a moral obligation to emulate Sen McCain's qualities and to perpetuate his legacy of civility, respect and personal sacrifice in the way that we live our own lives and raise our own children.
| Last Time On Donna's Glorious Giveaways: | |
Well, I hope that in this diary entry, I've managed to walk the tightrope of political neutrality with some semblance of poise and buoyancy.
Until next time
Donna
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