(Charles's normal note)
I'm writing a belated post. I've been combing through the RSS feeds I'd left piled up. Tens of thousands of accumulated... T_T messages — pulling them out one by one.
One of those categories is Yeh Byungil's Economic Note.
Reading accumulated feeds in chronological order seems silly, so I've been picking out the ones that catch my eye. A certain word caught my attention while reading, so I'm jotting it down.
Dignity.
I'm thirty-eight — a single jobless middle-aged guy. Even setting aside the shabbiness others can see, shouldn't I at least hold onto my own sense of dignity?
The piece below is from the U.S. election before last. It talks about the dignity that McCain (the maverick) showed through the campaign against Obama. I kept nodding as I read it. True conservatism seems to look like this. Sincerity really does come out not in words but in actions, and it shows especially when you're cornered.
(Yeh Byungil's Economic Note)
'Maverick.'
Someone with a strong individual streak, independent, going their own way. It can also mean 'lone wolf' or 'heretic.'
Senator John McCain (81), the towering figure of the U.S. Republican Party who was called 'a true conservative,' passed away from a brain tumor on the 25th.
Watching CNN this past Sunday (Aug 26), they were broadcasting news of his death all day. All of America felt as if a former or sitting president had passed — the whole country was in mourning.
McCain's nickname was 'Maverick.' It was attached to him because he refused to get sucked into partisan interests and pursued his own path. He believed that pursuing 'American values' had to transcend faction and party calculation. That's why he earned bipartisan respect.
The day before, on Saturday (Aug 25), McCain's family announced the decision to stop treatment. From that moment, CNN started titling segments 'American Hero' and began running the news about McCain.
Just as CNN put it, he was 'an American hero.'
First, a 'war hero.' In 1967, during the Vietnam War, the plane McCain was flying was shot down and he was taken captive, enduring torture and spending five years as a POW. When his father was appointed in 1968 as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC) overseeing all U.S. forces in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese offered 'to release the son first.' McCain refused, saying, "I can't be released before any POW who was captured before me," and his father also refused, ordering the bombing of Hanoi — the city where his son was being held. 'Like father, like son.' That cemented McCain as a symbol of American patriotism and pride.
He was also a dignified 'political hero.' What impressed me most was a scene from the 2008 presidential race against Obama. At a rally, a female supporter raised concerns about Obama's race and background, saying, "I don't trust him. He's an Arab." McCain took the microphone and defended his opponent Obama like this:
"No, he's a fine American citizen from a decent family..."
McCain's exact words at the time were:
"No ma'am, he's a decent family man, citizen, who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about,"
'Decent' means 'dignified, well-mannered.' In a political arena full of muck-slinging and baseless malicious attacks, it was McCain who demonstrated 'dignity.'
You can also see his true character in another thing he said during the 2008 campaign. Defending the then-unpopular Iraq War troop surge, he said:
"I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose a war."
He refused to take the easy road of riding public opinion. His exact words:
"I would rather lose a campaign than a war."
In the end he lost to Obama, but he left a wonderful concession speech — and once again made a deep impression.
I kept CNN on all Saturday and Sunday.
I wanted to see McCain's final moments.
A soldier of dignity, a politician of dignity, and above all a human being of dignity — McCain. I wanted to keep his image in my memory.
Watching the TV, I felt a bit envious of the American culture that recognized him, chose him as a politician, and respected him.
Of course, envy alone isn't enough.
We too have many politicians who pursue only partisan and personal interests and crave attention with inflammatory, extreme language.
We need to start by not choosing people like that at the ballot box — by electing 'politicians of dignity' instead.
