John McCain is a war hero. A genuine war hero. He served his country with honor and went above and beyond the call. He should be admired for his military service. He was simply incredible and has more intestinal fortitude than I will ever have.
That does not mean he is right on every political issue however, and it certainly doesn’t mean he is above criticism.
John McCain reminds us (constantly) that he is “serving his country.” He recently told Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes that he is more energetic after his recent cancer diagnosis because he has to hurry to serve his country while he still can.
Really? Nobody else can cast the votes in the Senate? The country really needs an 80 year old senator who has been there since the 1980’s? We cannot manage without him? I think his sense of self has gotten the best of him.
The reason we refer to military service as “service” is because people do it to benefit others. It’s a sacrifice. It means giving up certain freedoms. It means working for peanuts and going where someone else tells you to go and doing what they tell you to do. THAT is service.
Winning a popularity contest to gain the privilege of sitting in congress is not service. Where is the sacrifice? You receive a six figure paycheck and perks like lifetime healthcare no matter how long your term in congress. All that for voting? As I see it, members of congress serve themselves, not the country.
Politicians like to tell us they are “serving” the country. What a bogus attempt to appear noble. The only people they are serving are themselves.
One could argue that members of congress “serve” their constituents. Hmm…I suppose you might argue that. Why do they need to win a popularity contest to “serve?” And why do they have to live on the public dime? How about just getting a real job like everyone else and earning your own money and paying for your own healthcare?
Think about what John McCain did after he returned from the war. He retired from the Navy in 1981. He then moved to the state that he had no previous connection to. Oh, they just happened to have an open House seat. He ran for the House in 1982. In 1986, he was elected to the Senate.
Three years later, Mr. McCain was implicated in the Keating Five scandal? Remember that? Read about it
here.
Since the 1980’s, John McCain has been sitting in Washington, casting votes, acting the “maverick” part, and all for the sake of “serving his country.” Give me a break.
The bottom line is John McCain is just another career politician. Let me say that again. John McCain is just another career politician.
Being a career politician does not in anyway erase his military service or the fact that he was a genuine war hero. BUT being a war hero does not in anyway erase the fact that he is just another career politician either.
The war hero thing doesn’t make him right on the issues, and it certainly doesn’t mean he cannot be criticized.
Instead of lecturing the Senate or grandstanding on TV, Mr. McCain should quietly retire from the Senate and ride off into the sunset. Sorry, John. It happens to everyone. At some point, it’s out with the old and in with the new. We don’t need “service” from career politicians anymore. We don’t need someone to remain on the public dime for over 30 years. We need new citizens that will step up to the plate for a few years, then LEAVE and go back to their own lives.
With that said, I wish Mr. McCain a speedy recovery and may more years to come. Travel, enjoy retirement, do whatever you want to do. Be happy. You’ve “served” enough.
