I never met John McCain, but I wish I had. It seems that there is a lot that we can learn from his life. Especially since it stands in such contrast to many of our so-called leaders, political or not, today. The New York Times obituary did a great job of covering the entirety of his amazing life. McCain made mistakes, as we all do, and he readily admitted so in his farewell speech published after his death. Both his selection of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate in 2008 and his support of the Iraq war come to mind.
But McCain’s life is perhaps even more inspiring because he was so transparently human. There is something profoundly moving about how he lived his life. Here are some things that really stand out to me.
Above All, McCain Kept Moving Forward
John McCain’s whole life was about moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other no matter what else was happening good or bad. Most famously and most courageously, he did it when he endured five and a half years of captivity – much of it in solitary confinement- after his plane was shot down in Hanoi. And refused to be let go, after the North Vietnamese figured out he had a famous father – since it was a violation of military protocol for him to be let go ahead of others. But he also moved forward early in his life from graduating near the bottom of his Naval class at Annapolis. He moved forward, after he was let out of the POW camp in Vietnam, even though he was badly injured and could never raise his arms above his head the rest of his life. Early in his senatorial career, he was grilled for his role in the Keating savings and loan scandal but he managed to save his political life. He moved forward after he lost his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, and his bid for the presidency in 2008. Finally, he moved forward with honor and courage after he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and made the most of the time he had left.
Not only did McCain always move forward, he kept looking for the next life opportunity even when he suffered setbacks. After he became a senator, he worked hard and successfully to normalize relations with Vietnam. After the Keating savings and loan scandal, he worked on campaign finance reform. After he lost his run for the presidency in 2008, he secured by 2015 what he viewed as the second most important job in American government, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He Never Lost His Sense of Perspective, or Humor
Probably because of everything that had already happened to him, McCain never forgot how lucky he was to still be alive and able to contribute. He had a tremendous sense of perspective and sense of self, the kind that is in many lives only gained by going through pain and suffering. Even though he was an intense competitor, he was an imminently gracious loser – most notably when he lost to Obama but had the perspective to realize, even in his concession speech, that Obama was making history by winning. McCain clearly saw that there were worse things that could happen in life than losing an election, namely, losing track of your character and integrity. And he was almost certainly the funniest politician of his stature during his lifetime, never missing a chance to deliver a (usually sarcastic but not really mean) one-liner.
He Was Able to See the Joy in Life
McCain was a joyful and grateful warrior. Here is what he said when being honored with the Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center in October 2017, after he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer:
“I am the luckiest guy on earth. I have served America’s cause — the cause of our security and the security of our friends, the cause of freedom and equal justice — all my adult life. I haven’t always served it well. I haven’t even always appreciated what I was serving. But among the few compensations of old age is the acuity of hindsight. I see now that I was part of something important that drew me along in its wake even when I was diverted by other interests. I was, knowingly or not, along for the ride as America made the future better than the past.
“And I have enjoyed it, every single day of it, the good ones and the not so good ones. I’ve been inspired by the service of better patriots than me. I’ve seen Americans make sacrifices for our country and her causes and for people who were strangers to them but for our common humanity, sacrifices that were much harder than the service asked of me. And I’ve seen the good they have done, the lives they freed from tyranny and injustice, the hope they encouraged, the dreams they made achievable.
“May God bless them. May God bless America, and give us the strength and wisdom, the generosity and compassion, to do our duty for this wondrous land, and for the world that counts on us. With all its suffering and dangers, the world still looks to the example and leadership of America to become, another, better place. What greater cause could anyone ever serve.”
As far as I can tell, McCain didn’t believe life owed him anything; he simply took great joy in what it had to offer him.
He Loved the Fight
As I watch the tributes to McCain and remembrances of his life, one thing that stands out is how much McCain loved to be in the arena. Teddy Roosevelt was his hero and role model. Even when he was clearly sick, he couldn’t resist one last chance to be in the arena, when he famously voted “thumbs down” on the repeal of Obamacare, likely in large part because of his frustration with his own political party for not following customary rules and order for senate deliberation.
McCain loved to be in the arena, but it was never personal to him. It was always about what was best for the country. Which is why even his political opponents are paying tribute to him now.
He Loved the Natural World
McCain made his home in a beautiful part of the country, Sedona, Arizona. He loved to be outdoors and to hike. Maybe in part because he went for weeks without even seeing the sun or moon when he was a POW. He loved the natural world, and it seemed to help him – as it does for many of us- better understand his own place in the world.
He Took America Seriously, More Seriously than He Took Himself
I have a theory about aging, which is basically that if we can’t get or stay interested in something bigger than ourselves we are in trouble. We become one of those irritating old people in the restaurant who are always talking too loudly about our latest trip to the doctor, expounding on our petty grievances.
McCain was the opposite of that. He was always interested in America, and he knew his whole life that it was much bigger than him. He was quick to make fun of himself and quick to admit when he was wrong – but he always took America seriously.
McCain was a big man- never really stooping to his critics’ level – and he had a big life. But he never lost sight of the fact that he was just one man.
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