The Legacy of John McCain

During my teaching days, Senator McCain was a frequent topic of my presentations - both to students, and to other teachers at professional conferences.

A reporter once asked McCain in 2010 "How many houses do you own?". McCain seemed baffled and could not answer! Yes, he had more real estate than he could keep track of! (How many of us have that problem?)

McCain was a war veteran, coming back home in 1973 after 5.5 years of UNSPEAKABLE torture, beatings, and other physical/psychological abuses. Due to his multiple bone breakages, he never could perform some very basic bodily functions that the rest of us take for granted.

It would have been ALL TOO EASY for McCain to turn up on freeway ramps, holding a "Homeless Veteran" sign, a drug addict, a jailbird, a welfare recipient, or endlessly and bitterly whining about how his military service "RUINED" his life due to the various traumas, disorders, etc. caused by his war experiences - accounting for multiple failures in his life! And the amazing thing is: THE REST OF US WOULD HAVE CONDONED/EMPATHIZED WITH HIM, further fueling his frenzy!

But McCain, being a human with a FREE mind - didn't choose that path. At one point post-war, he decided to make something of his life...and boy, did he ever?

He invested wisely - building IMMENSE material wealth, raised a family with many healthy children (including a little Muslim girl he adopted from Bangladesh), built a political career through the Congress -- steps away from the highest office of all, and a name and legacy that will be studied by scholars centuries from now (the way we study Washington, Franklin, and Hamilton today).

McCain didn't accomplish those by back-stabbing, playing political games, lying, sweeping under the rug his own wrong-doings, or viciously attacking those who dared oppose him; he accomplished his life's work with strong character, integrity, even DEFENDING his opponents when he felt it was the right thing to do! (My personal feeling is his honesty KEPT him from the presidency! Had he played the political game, he would have won the White House.)

McCain's life sets the example for the rest of us - for generations to come: Don't look back, forgive the past (and those in it who wronged you), look to the future, and with honesty and hard work - there is nothing you can not accomplish!

John McCain: Thank you for being who you were, and lighting the path for the rest of us! May you rest in eternal peace.....