We Need heros

Aug. 26, 2018
​            Let me beg your indulgence for just a moment to pay tribute to a great American. A man who clearly believed that the limits most of us endure were not for him.
            I'm referring to the late John McCain. Now, I'm a Canuck so I obviously don't belong to a U.S political party. If I did, it likely wouldn't be Senator McCain's. Yet, that doesn't bother me about his beliefs, nor did it seem to bother him. John McCain believed in the United States of America. He never put his party before his personal convictions, disagreeing with the current President about many of his policies, standing up for what was right, not for a political movement. And that makes him a hero.
            But then, he was surely a hero long before my crowning him so. Talk about pushing the boundaries during his lifetime: flying ground-attack planes from aircraft carriers during the Vietnam War... being shot down and seriously injured, then captured by the North Vietnamese... barley existing as a POW for 6 years, experiencing torture and refusing an early repatriation offer... coping with lifelong physical disabilities brought about by those injuries... after entering politics, developing the reputation of a "maverick" for his already acknowledged preparedness to disagree with his party on certain issues... earning the renown of being a "hothead" in defending the rights of his fellow humans... throwing his hat into the ring to run for president...
            I had hoped to convince Senator McCain to write the Foreword for my newest book "Pushing The Boundaries" (pushingtheboundaries.life). In fact, one of his handlers was awaiting progress on this valiant fighter's final skirmish: the one with brain cancer. But sadly, time ran out.
            I shall remember John McCain as a man who led a life of commitment and contentment. Who sought to add value to his every day by not necessarily doing as the folks next door do; rather, seeking to experience life on a different horizon, accepting that taking risks can lead to greater fulfillment.
            For John McCain, that's how he achieved a greater sense of being. And we're better for it.