The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.
–Robert Jordan in Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls
On Saturday, August 25, 2018, the world lost an American hero. After a yearlong fight with brain cancer, Senator John McCain passed away in his home state of Arizona, surrounded by loved ones. Surviving nearly six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain returned home to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983-1987 and then in the U.S. Senate from 1987 until his death. As a Senator, John McCain chaired the Armed Services Committee for the three years leading up to his death.
When asked during a 2008 Presidential campaign interview, then-Senator John McCain stated that Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls was his favorite book. The title is taken from John Donne’s “Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions.” The bells to which both works refer are funeral bells. They serve as reminders that death eventually comes to us all. It’s a humbling metaphor that John McCain took to heart, especially in his final days. In a beautifully penned farewell address to a grateful nation, John McCain gave us hope for a brighter future. He wrote, “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..” Memorial services will continue to sweep across the nation in the coming days and weeks as Americans gather to thank and memorialize a legend in American politics. A man so revered by his colleagues is rare. A man so revered by a grateful nation is rarer still. John McCain was both.
Throughout his career, McCain accomplished much. He crossed party lines more often than what is considered “normal” within politics as he stood steadfastly by his principles. However, he was hardly infallible. The most visible and controversial being “The Keating Five,” a 1989 corruption scandal where McCain was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. After his absolution, he dedicated significant time and effort to decreasing corruption in politics. On a personal level, he had an infamous temper. It could burn white-hot and then melt away just as quickly into a wide grin and a pat on the back. But it was his imperfections, his mistakes, his humanness that made him the man he became revered for throughout his career. Lapses in judgment and human flaws cannot overshadow his service to our country.
McCain was a giant in the Senate. Yet he was unpredictable as well, a reputation that earned him the nickname “The Maverick.” He pushed the boundaries of party-line politics, something almost unheard of in today’s politics, never wavering in the face of intense scrutiny. His politics aside, McCain’s strength of will and moral fortitude are to be admired, traits too often overlooked in our leaders. Our politicians buckle far too easily under partisan pressure, compromising their values for votes. Not John McCain. As infuriating as he was to conservatives and liberals alike, he amassed enormous power by building up his reputation as a man trying his best to do right by his constituents. He led by example, forcing us to look in the mirror and question which values we should cling tight to and which values we can let slip from our fingers. It was a challenge to us all to be better than ourselves.
We’ve lost our way as a country beginning at the highest levels of our government. Politicians have lost sight of what it means to represent something more than themselves. We need dynamic leaders willing to risk everything for the good of the country and not their careers. It’s a responsibility at which few can succeed, but politicians unwilling to take responsibility for their actions cannot be the standard. It pains me to say, but I believe that we live in a world where caring for someone other than ourselves is too much of an afterthought. Politics is a zero-sum game. Good faith doesn’t exist and personal ambition blinds us so we forget that the country’s best interests must come above all else. But it’s not too late. We can salvage the pieces and put everything back together again. All we have to do is accept the challenge.
For all his faults, known and unknown, John McCain believed in America. He believed in her ability to be a beacon of hope and example to the rest of the world. His career was highlighted by a challenge he extended to us all–that we might rise above partisan pressures in the interest of country. It is now our job to accept his challenge and follow the example left behind by John McCain. He left this world with dignity and grace and with all the love in the world. Unfortunately, he left us in dire need of women and men who lead with respect for the power they yield. But, he gave us a silver lining. We never hide from history. We make history. We can never question that sentiment, for it speaks truth to the promise of what America can be. He set the bar high, and it’s our job to maintain it. Make history. Look to the John McCain’s of the world. Let them guide you, for there are good people willing to work for what’s right. Maybe it’s the quiet kid in the back of the class. Maybe it’s the stranger on the bus. Maybe it’s the store clerk. Maybe it’s the coal miner in West Virginia. Maybe it’s the priest in Arkansas. They can sometimes be hard to find. All you have to do is look. •
