Sep 14 2009
JOHN McCAIN: THE REPUBLICAN VERSION OF TED KENNEDY
John McCain just might be the republican version of Ted Kennedy, but for me personally, McCain holds all hope for the GOP. He and Kennedy restore my faith in those who lead the United States. Like Kennedy, he serves his country and with men like them, it’s never the other way around. Never self serving, he and Kennedy always had the strength of character to say, “I was wrong,”and they took personal responsibility for the big mistakes each made. They believe in redemption, and they remind me of a quote by someone unknown who expressed best the courage based character of men like them. “Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell and rose again.”
So many politicians stop serving their country once they’ve lost an election, but not them. They rose above the strife and debates to become two of the greatest leaders within the history of the senate, not to mention it was men like them who did the most to change the facts that would have otherwise remained the same. As Andrew Jackson said, “One man with courage makes a majority.” They are the men who hold onto hope and faith in the United States, no matter how divided we, “the people,” might be. They take a disgrace and create what would otherwise be an impossible dream. They produce what benefits all, even if it means they lose an election because that’s what’s right for their country. It’s like the time I witnessed the great character trait of John McCain when he defended his opponent during the campaign. “Barack Obama is a Christian and a family man,” to anyone who accused and condemned Obama of being anything less. He chose to be forthright when he explained to his otherwise terrified supporters that if Obama did win the election in the end, they’d not need to be afraid. Then again, I suppose John McCain remembered the life and wise advice of men before him, like Martin Luther King who taught us not to falsely judge or condemn men when he said, “One who condones evil is just as guilty as the one who perpetuates it.”He claimed what is right through a vision of truth, even if the truth would be politically incorrect for him in the end. That’s why I admire him, and even though I chose to vote for Obama, McCain restores my faith in the leadership of these divided United States. With a thumbs up, he is for the current President more than he is against him, because McCain believes that’s what is best for the country. It’s McCain who makes me believe what Obama claimed in the campaign. “YES, WE CAN.” With men who lead through a view of hope and faith in their country, we can do anything. We can part the sea if need be and we can achieve what used to be impossible dreams, not in spite of men like them, but because of them.
Along with Obama, men like Kennedy and McCain who maintain strong character traits are the key to our saving grace in the United States. Without them, the monsters in our minds would keep biting our society’s behind all the time. Even so, with hope and faith, men like them will move a mountain or two, to lead us beyond the strife and create what is right. While men like Joe Wilson represent what some people say through a view of doom, gloom and hate, John McCain holds his faith to represent his view of the truth and what is right. It could even be true that because men like John McCain who stand up for what is right on the senate floor, men like Joe Wilson won’t disrespect the President or disgrace the United States anymore.
As Socrates said,”False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” Men like McCain and Kennedy refuse to infect our nation’s soul with the false belief that men who accuse have anything to do with the truth. Like Christ, they turn the other cheek. They move on, beyond the fear based hate to do what great men do and improve our society. They refuse to use words that do more harm than good. Men like them are the ones we can trust, and no matter how wrong or right their politics might be, whatever they achieve will come from what is just. They create a way for what is wrong to become what is right, just because they look through a vision of hope and faith in and within the USA. That’s exactly what leads to the amazing grace it takes to face the big mistakes other men make and achieve impossible dreams in spite of fear and hate.
When it comes to John McCain, it seems to me that Arthur Trudear described his character best when he said, “Character is the final decision to reject whatever is demeaning to oneself or to others and with confidence and honesty choose what is right.” He restores my faith in the GOP, but because he stands up for what is right along side of men like Obama and the late Ted Kennedy, it’s men like them who restore faith in my country. So to conclude, I’ll document in print a quote that states what men like them do to improve our American values.
“Character is power; it makes friends, draws patronage and support. It opens the way to wealth, honor and happiness.” John Howe
