After a sixty year career spent in service to the United States, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) passed away on August 25 due to a brain tumor. McCain was diagnosed with Glioblastoma in July 2017 and died the day after discontinuing treatment.
McCain’s passing has caused both critics and supporters alike to take another look at his life, careers, and service to the United States.
“I think McCain’s passing had marked the end of an era, particularly one where politicians weren’t afraid to cross party lines. In the past, I’ve heard him described as a ‘maverick’, and think that’s a pretty good description [...] One of the things people really found attractive about McCain was his dedication to what he believed in,” Wake Forest University freshman and former The Hawkeye Co-Editor-in-Chief Jadyn Ives said.
McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958 and began a twenty-two yearlong naval career. It was at the Academy that he joined the ranks of his father and grandfather and where the beliefs of duty, honor, and country were instilled in McCain.
These beliefs were put to the test when his plane was shot down while flying a ground attack mission over Hanoi, Vietnam in 1967, and McCain was taken as a Prisoner of War until 1973. In his five and a half years as a POW, McCain spent much of that time in solitary confinement. At the time, McCain’s father was the American commander in the Pacific, and because of this, he was afforded early release by the North Vietnamese, however he refused unless his fellow prisoners would be released with him.
McCain underwent such immense torture while a POW in the Hanoi Hilton that he was unable to lift his arms above his head for years after returning home, and yet he never betrayed his country while under interrogation.
“Such conduct enthralls a generation that aches for heroes and doubts the moral detour it took during the years John McCain was becoming the icon of Duty, Honor and Country,” TIME Magazine wrote in a 1999 cover story regarding McCain’s 2000 Presidential run.
After his release in 1973, McCain remained in the Navy until 1981. In 1982 he made his first bid for an Arizona Congressional seat and won. Since then, McCain has been a permanent and definitive feature in U.S. politics, oftentimes casting the deciding vote in momentous decisions.
“I might not have agreed with him politically often, as he tends to be more conservative and I am more liberal, but I believe he was a good man and a good politician that did not stoop to using insults and lies as a means to tear his opponent down,” Newtown High School senior Mollie Goudy said.
In times where politics seems so polarizing, McCain was able to appeal to voters on both sides of the aisle and focus on policy, rather than party, which causes one to wonder how his passing will change the political climate of today.
“...he represented the seemingly forgotten center in American politics. We are so bitterly polarized today, but McCain could credibly reach out to both the left and the right. He could see both east and west, but he resolutely followed his own compass to true north,” Admiral James G. Stavridis (Ret.) wrote in a piece for TIME Magazine.
Since taking office, his voice has been extremely influential in U.S. politics. Although characterized as quick to anger and hard to work with at times, McCain was steadfast in his beliefs while also being open to compromise.
“I don’t know if [McCain’s death] will hurt [today’s political climate], but it definitely won’t help it unless there is somebody who is going to recognize the value of John McCain’s position and step into his shoes [...] and be ‘John McCain,’ be that rational person that he [was],” NHS American Government teacher Candace Dietter said.
At a time where much is unknown, John McCain made himself known as a leader, veteran, and most importantly, American. He lived his life to serve his fellow Americans in the best way he could. While the first to admit he was imperfect in this endeavor, McCain’s devotion to this country was, and is, unparalleled.
“Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them,” McCain wrote in his farewell letter.
As the U.S. mourns the passing of American greatness, may it look towards leaders like John McCain, and may leaders like John McCain emerge. As has been repeated hundreds of times in the public sphere, his impact will be felt for generations.
As the United States Navy tweeted in a statement, “Fair winds and following seas Sir, we have the watch.”
Image courtesy of The New Yorker.