by Norman Halls, contributor
Observing Senator McCain, he was a man of great character. “Character is the sum of a person’s ethical and moral qualities, and it is demonstrated daily through the choices we make. A person of good character is someone who consistently acts morally and ethically upright. To be fair, none of us get it right all of the time. We are all a mixture of both good and bad. A leader of character, however, strives to take the moral high road and, when he or she recognizes they have fallen short, chooses to exercise the strength of character to intentionally get back on track.” from Leadership Advice from America’s Most Trusted Leaders!
Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong.
Thomas Jefferson
I remember another maverick legislator from Western Massachusetts, the late Silvio O. Conte, Congressman for the 1st District. Mr. Conte and Senator McCain were fighters and worked both sides of the aisle. Congressman Conte once said; “It’s not that I take any pleasure in voting against my Republican colleagues,” he continued and said, “It’s only that I refuse to let somebody else do my thinking for me—let alone tell me what my convictions should be.” from the New York Times 1964
I did not have the pleasure of meeting John McCain, but I can recall when he was taken prisoner and the time he stepped off the plane. Throughout his legislative career if you ever watched Senator McCain over the years you knew that he would vote his convictions for the simple reason that he thinks that’s the only way to legislate. Senator McCain showed his strengths and character when he took the microphone from a woman bad mouthing Obama and said; “No, ma’am, he’s a decent family man, a citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what the campaign’s all about. He’s not an Arab.” The Senator achieved his philosophy by listening to his constituents and incorporating his years of experience.
“Life every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor far more precious than life.”
William Shakespeare
Sen. McCain calls for compromise in return to Senate floor July 25, 2017, and said;
“Our responsibilities are important, vitally important, to the continued success of our republic. And our arcane rules and customs are deliberately intended to require broad cooperation to function well at all,” he said. “The most revered members of this institution accepted the necessity of compromise in order to make incremental progress on solving America’s problems and defend her from her adversaries.” He continued saying; “We are the servants of a great nation, a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.’ More people have lived free and prosperous lives here than in any other nation. We have acquired unprecedented wealth and power because of our governing principles, and because our government defended those principles.”
John McCain, the military hero who had a long career as a “maverick” Republican senator, thank you Senator. God Bless you.
