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A Tale of Two Warriors
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The following is written by a good friend of mine, Lewis Merrick:
Forty years ago there were two men engaged in defending this country. One, a white man named John McCain. The other, a Black man named Martin King. Each man followed his father and grandfather into the family business. Both wore uniforms of their calling; John wore the naval clothing of his calling and Martin wore the religious vestments of his.
Each man was dedicated to the task of protecting the American ideals of liberty while, preserving and defending the values long established as the symbol of American justice. These men, these warriors, both suffered because of their service to protect their vision of the American imperative.
Both were put in jail nearly at the same time. One suffered as a prisoner of war in a Viet Cong prison – a heroic journey that forty years later we would hear far too much about. The other man, wearing the uniform of the clergy, suffered here inside his county.
He too was in prison many times and tortured by legal entities determined to abort his mission for American justice.
Finally, one suffering naval pilot was freed and sent home to later become a political leader in the American Senate. The other warrior’s suffering was terminated by an assassin’s bullet. Some few years after his death the lives of these two suffering warriors intersected. One is to be honored with a national holiday while the other demonstrates his power and disregard for a fellow warrior by preventing the holiday from being established in his state of Arizona.
The moral of the tale to John McCain is: all suffering is the same. Yours, forty years ago is no greater than your fellow American’s suffering in a Birmingham jail. You can continue to milk your experience in Vietnam, but millions of Americans suffer today because of decisions you and the Republican Party have made over the last 30 years. Stop begging for our love because you suffered and start demonstrating your love for us because you suffered.
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12 Responses to “A Tale of Two Warriors”
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The past with its heroism is gone; and it is sometimes irrelevant to the current issues of the day. The USA is a great focal point of the world as well as the world’s economy. Can one rightly justify a war hero’s war experience, and in particular, in a Viet Nam jail as being sufficient grounds to manage a country as large and great as the USA? If that is the case, then we may as well equate the colors of green and blue or the energies of light and sound! While they have some things in common, they are not the same in essence. Therefore Mr. John Mc Cain ought to think critically again to see if he is erringly equating light and sound in his efforts to advance his military record as sufficient and necessary ground for him to be elected as the President of the U.S.
Anthony Brumble
October 7, 2008
Anthony,
Some of McCain’s fellow prisoners of war have actually stated that precisely because of his experience as a POW, he is not emotionally stable enough for the job of president.
The article is a perfect example of how some people lack any measurable compassion for anyone outside their narrow scope of thinking! This far-reaching liberalism manages to reach new levels of repulsiveness. Lewis Merrick has no idea what suffering is because suffering is NOT all the same Lewis! Just ask a parent who has lost a child and compare that to losing a older parent or friend.; or the ordeal of a county jail vs. a prison camp – a ridiculous comparison!
To add to the weak argument, Mr. Brumble dismisses McCain and his experiences as being somehow less qualified than Obama’s. What experiences has Obama demonstrated to qualify him to lead this great country? It’s a given that both candidates love this country and want to serve it well so why the attitude? Is it necessary to blame one party over the other when in truth, both parties have proven their inability to work together for the sake of the country.
For the love of God, how can you so easily dismiss and criticize a man who spent years being tortured? What kind of person are you? What kind of people do you represent? You don’t have to vote for McCain, but you also don’t have to grovel in the gutter in making your choice and using character assasination to make your case.
Deb may have it right because there is a certain glazed-over look that McCain has that scares me and I can certainly imagine that the time he spent in prison camp was both physically and mentally debilitating. However, that fact alone doesn’t disqualify OR qualify him for president. It’s just one more issue we need to consider.
I think there’s a higher road to take in these debates and in this election. Neither McCain or Obama have impressed me. I was hoping that one of them would refrain from mud-slinging because it serves no useful purpose.
If you want to critically think the issues, then you need to be open-minded. A way to discredit yourself is to take a truth and bend it enough to make it disappear!
Remember that what you say is either a motivator or a de-motivator. Words are powerful so use them wisely. Passively dismissing an issue solely because it may collide with your present thought process doesn’t automatically discredit that thought.
DJ,
I am wondering what exactly is the source of your anger. When I read Lewis’ article, I don’t interpret it as being dismissive of McCain or his real suffering in a POW camp. I interpret it as saying that the best lessons we can take form suffering is to find ways to empathize with others who suffer.
Deb
Truth be told. McCain actually didn’t suffer that much in that prison camp. He bought his way out by giving them US military secrets. That is common knowledge. Do the research yourself. Do you want a traitor running your beloved country? I should hope not.
Aq:
I guess you were in the prison camp with McCain! You’re absolutely right, McCain spent 5-1/2 years “spilling the beans.” I wonder if he broke his own arms as well? At least you did your selective research! We all know the history and what he did and under what circumstances he did it.
You liberals seem to be into name-calling. Is that your research topic for the day….every day? Do you get your cues from Hollywood or the upper west side?
I haven’t decided whom I’m voting for, but in any case, I would be embarrassed to say that McCain was a traitor. I also wouldn’t character assassinate Obama to make a point. Luckily Obama takes a much higher road than you.
Ouch, DJ Grecco. I’d just like to point out that the partisan politics in this country is quite volatile and divisive and destructive. There’s blood on all of our hands: the public for allowing it and participating in it, the political leaders for generating and regenerating such divisiveness and “school playground” tactics, the media for actually covering the mess and narrowly reporting on the sensational words and tactics, and others whom I may be leaving out. In a sense we are getting what we want!
Your “You liberals …” is an example of the divisiveness. Name-calling is not something liberals are uniquely involved in. At least, that’s my perspective. :)
Unfortunately, this country wants mud-slinging … and it seems that’s what we’re going to get … no matter who is the person running for office.
And regarding your comment …
“The article is a perfect example of how some people lack any measurable compassion for anyone outside their narrow scope of thinking! This far-reaching liberalism manages to reach new levels of repulsiveness.”
… what are you talking about? I think you misread the article and it’s intent. Or you may still feel this way, which is your right and is valid. But I’m in serious disagreement of your conclusions.
Nick:
I agree with you entire first paragraph, but the article is certainly anti-McCain. Do you think McCain is milking it ot talking about his prison time too much? Give me a break. Aq refers to McCain as a traitor (ouch)!? He’s a lot of things, but a traitor is not one of them.
In my opinion, I fairly used the liberal term. I’m an independent who sometimes is more liberal and other times more conservative. That doesn’t mean I’m right all the time because I allow myself to be judgemental on each issue. This life doesn’t allow anyone to be that smart or that intuitive. I see divisiveness more in the way we publically assassinate people’s personalities and not in the way we classify political affiliations. Being called a liberal should not bother anyone who is. I know I’ve been called worse!
I took exception to the article because it started out so well, then rapidly declined into a one-sided comparison. The title is not what the article is about – in my opinion Nick. It’s about two heros, then one of them becomes blemished for not quickly recognizing the other’s significance (McCain’s reluctance to accept the MLK holiday in AZ), then McCain milking his service time and talking about it maybe too much – or even hinting that others are talking about it too much. In all fairness, if I’m McCain, I’m talking about my 5-1/2 years in prison until we all go deaf! If I’m Obama, I’m talking about the poor and middle-class until people are sick of it. You go with your strengths, that’s it. In the end it’s just another issue you need to consider.
I’d like to think that people can have a discussion about issues without assasinating one another’s personality. People in the news make that a hard thing to do. I still think the left is much more vicious in their personal attacks.
I like the way Obama addresses and directly answers the questions. I was very impressed with him last night. McCain needs to stay on point much more to make this a race. He’s all over the place. Either way the election goes, I will respect that person who is elected. I hope others will as well.
A fairly written article is one that presents both sides, then allows you to judge for yourself. This one just didn’t do that for me Nick.
DJ
Both McCain and Obama love this country. Both are putting this country first. What we need to do is stop attacking both men and focusing on the problems of this country.
For me, the main four are Healthcare, the Economy, Global Warming and Education.
McCain’s Healthcare proposal is to give us $5,000.00 to buy our insurance. Wouldn’t be a change for me because I ” receive it already because I have insurance through my employer. My insurance is only ok now, before I have had horrible insurance, that wouldn’t pay for medications.NO Change for me.
Obama Healthcare proposal is to give me the option to keep the insurance I have or to have the same as federal employees.
Check out how they stand on the issues, not on what party they belong to, not what the pundits say, not on what your parents did or are doing. Make an educationed decision. Don’t let color, or heroism make your decision. A lot has changed. Good luck and get out and vote
Carol
http://www.johnmccain.com/
http://www.barackobama.com/
Got tired of typing and cutting and pasting from the sites.
Wow. This post has certainly stirred up a lot of energy. As you can see, I post all comments whether I agree with them or not.
I would like this to be a place where people with different views can come together and share their perspectives. However, for this to work well, I hope we can focus on the contents of each post rather than the posters themselves. So, please feel free to use adjectives to describe your thoughts about what is written but try to refrain from using adjectives to describe other posters.
Thanks.
Deb
Any ones who thinks two peoples suffering is different is making a judgment about the struggle of the other. what breaks me, may only tickle you. and issues which seem minor to one person may haunt and hamper another for a lifetime. John McCains suffering is not the issue. The national trend toward inflating ones life to diminish another is disturbing. John Kerry’s heroic military service was dismissed while highlighting the life adventures of a man running away from the war as fast as possible. John Mc Cain’s 72 years of life are in fact hopelessly ordinary in many ways. i understand why he highlights the most defining moment of his life as a pow. I never commited a crime. not because i am morally good but afraid of being confined. so i feel for him. He married well, read wealthy, but other than his hunger to be president , he is in most respects a hoplessly ordinary person like most of us..
Isn’t it amazing how ordinary people do extraordinary things! Our world is full of those people…..thankfully.
Actually, I felt sorry for Kerry – he failed to leverage his military service and instead made his service time suspect. Just going to Vietnam was enough of a horror without people discrediting it. Unfortunately, this has become the acceptable way in which people on opposite sides talk to one another. Pretty sad.
A sensible person might think that some middle ground exists…..somewhere! As I said earlier, McCain and/or Obama will need to do a heck of a lot more than just reach across the political table. People will need to move toward the middle for the sake of this country. No one can have everything they want and often times, things won’t be exactly fair. That’s life!
I thank God every day that I have a great family, some close friends and I live in a country I love. I also realize that things aren’t perfect. I accept that.