Our Guy McCain.
By Michael Reynolds | Related entries in General Politics, Smart Things Said By Smart PeopleI have to go to the extended quote with bolds added for this. Newsweek editor John Meacham writing about John McCain at Liberty University:
Speaking of Iraq, McCain said: “Should we lose this war, our defeat will further destabilize an already volatile and dangerous region, strengthen the threat of terrorism and unleash furies that will assail us for a very long time. I believe the benefits of success will justify the costs and risks we have incurred. But if an American feels the decision was unwise, then they should state their opposition, and argue for another course. It is your right and your obligation. I respect you for it. I would not respect you if you chose to ignore such an important responsibility. But I ask that you consider the possibility that I, too, am trying to meet my responsibilities, to follow my conscience, to do my duty as best I can, as God has given me the light to see that duty.� The last phrase is an evocative one, derived from Lincoln and MacArthur, and McCain’s own faith, it seems, is largely in the tradition of what MacArthur called “duty, honor, country.� (McCain is said to have left the Episcopal Church in which he was raised in part because he found it too stuffy.)
The crux of McCain’s Liberty argument: “Americans deserve more than tolerance from one another, we deserve each other’s respect, whether we think each other right or wrong in our views, as long as our character and our sincerity merit respect, and as long as we share, for all our differences, for all the noisy debates that enliven our politics, a mutual devotion to the sublime idea that this nation was conceived in-that freedom is the inalienable right of mankind, and in accord with laws of nature and nature’s Creator.� In this McCain touched on two critical American traditions. The first is that tolerance is different from liberty (James Madison fought this battle during the Revolutionary era), for tolerance implies that one’s freedom is contingent. Liberty, however, is permanent, and, as Jefferson said, “the God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.� And by speaking of freedom in terms of “the laws of nature and nature’s Creator,� McCain was grounding himself explicitly in the opening section of the Declaration of Independence, which argued that our fundamental human rights came from God, not from men, and were thus sacred and beyond the reach of any temporal power-including the right to believe or not believe as one chooses.
McCain’s call was for America to act like America: to argue about freedom, but to respect one another, to understand that we are all-even those with whom we completely disagree-made in the image and likeness of God and are thus entitled to equal dignity. The difference between a theocracy and a democratic republic like ours is that religion shapes the life of nation without controlling it. And we are no theocracy. “Let us argue with each other then,� McCain said. “By all means, let us argue. Our differences are not petty, they often involve cherished beliefs, and represent our best judgment about what is right for our country and humanity. Let us defend those beliefs. Let’s do so sincerely and strenuously. It is our right and duty to do so. And let’s not be too dismayed with the tenor and passion of our arguments, even when they wound us. We have fought among ourselves before in our history, over big things and small, with worse vitriol and bitterness than we experience today. … But let us remember, we are not enemies. We are compatriots defending ourselves from a real enemy. We have nothing to fear from each other. … It should remain an argument among friends; each of us struggling to hear our conscience, and heed its demands; each of us, despite our differences, united in our great cause, and respectful of the goodness in each other.
The one, the only, John McCain. If even ten percent of American politicians were like this guy, just think of how much lower our national cynicism quotient would be.
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May 13th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
That’s a quote for the ages.
May 14th, 2006 at 3:06 am
On John McCain and America
McCain took a lot of flack for accepting the speaking engagement at Pat Robertson’s Liberty University and prior to his speech it was my guess that he was pulling the classic Nixonian “Run to the right early, head back to the center mid election seas…
May 14th, 2006 at 8:13 am
[...] I hadn’t clicked through to Donklephant recently and have no idea why I did but I certainly found something worth repeating. A sense of values that doesn’t seem to be based in greed or the current “state” of politics. [...]
May 14th, 2006 at 9:06 am
I think McCain is a neat guy. I like his attitude.
May 14th, 2006 at 10:17 am
The McCain Mutiny
Last night I looked in vain for a full transcript of John McCain’s speech at Liberty University. This morning, Michael Reynolds on Donklephant quotes a big chunk of it from Newsweek, with Jon Meacham’s commentary. Read it. McCain’s marvelous words
May 14th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
While I do like his words and agree with his sentiment, it also has to be considered that this was a politically astute thing to do and say. He doesn’t need the religious right to love him, he just needs it to not actively oppose him. A centrist will read it as a call for honest debate, the members of liberty university probably took it as a shuffling apology for calling their leader an agent of intolerance.
“But let us remember, we are not enemies. “
If I was in the lions den, I would be inclined to say the same thing.
May 14th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
I preferred him when he lumped falwell in with louis farakhan and said we should avoid both extremes. This statement is great but I think his visit was more than just paying lip service to the extreme right. I view him as having lost a lot of his moderate credentials for this cow-towing to falwell. As a center-left dem I don’t want hillary to run but I would point out that while Mccain has been busy building his far right credentials, hillary has been moving more and more to the center.
Plus Mccain has a serious age issue… if he runs in 2008 he’ll be like 72, 3 years older than the oldest elected president ever (reagan). Mccain is reminding me of Alan Alda in west wing after he lost the election he kept up some false hope of running again in four years… “come on guys, I’m healthy, 70 is the new 60…”
May 14th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Once again, McCain talks the talk and walks the walk.
Respect is key. It’s what the moderates on both sides strive for. If only the rest of the electorate would hold this value a little big higher.
May 14th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
I’m with Michael.
I’ve liked McCain for quite a while, but I see his getting into bed with Falwell as political calculation only and it’s greatly diminished my respect for him.
And the likelyhood of my voting for him.
May 14th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
I think what people are missing is that this speech was a subtle slam on Falwell, it was not McCain crossing over to the dark side. He was lecturing an auditoreum full of right wing Christians on the vital importance of respect and dissent. Explain to me why that’s a bad thing.
May 15th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
He was lecturing an auditoreum full of right wing Christians on the vital importance of respect and dissent. Explain to me why that’s a bad thing.
It’s not a bad thing.
What is a bad thing is that “don’t be an a-hole” is bring portrayed as a daring concept.
May 15th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
I have some probpems and quibbles with McCain. Nonetheless, I wanted him back in 2000, before Bush skunked him.
I think he would have grown exponentially in the role.
I think he is the president the gods meant us to have in these eight years.
May 16th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Nonetheless, I wanted him back in 2000, before Bush skunked him.
Oh, yeah, me too — I thought he was great.
If McCain had won the primary, I might have voted Republican back then, rather than casting my vote for Harry Browne.
Now, not so much. In the intervening six years, it’s seemed like his “straight talk” is more bark than bite.
May 16th, 2006 at 10:22 am
McCain sure does get a free ride. He hugs the guy who trashed his character in South Carolina, then kisses Falwell’s ass for political reasons, after seeing the price he paid for condemning him. Of course we all agree with what he said. “We should all respect each other even when we disagree?” What a ballsy statement.
June 10th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Why are so many people glorifying a corrupt politician like John “Keating Five” McCain?
McCain is a sleazy politician who has ripped of retirees and the taxpayers, the latter by hundreds of billions of dollars.
June 11th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
I disagree with McCain for several reasons and am still trying to figure the guy out. With all his pandering and media love I suspect him to be a closet liberal and I won’t be electing any of that into office. Hillary is equally duplicitous and I believe they are the same stripe: Kiss any ass to win an election, then obfuscate later. He grows ever more like a snake-oil salesman in demeanor and action with each passing day.
However, as to McCains quote, he is severly misinfomed. There is Respect, there is Tolerance, and there is Acceptance.
Respect is the most basic and should be required. No matter your views on a persons behavior and actions, you should always respect them as a human being. I heavily believe in Kant’s philosophy of believeing all men are responsible for their actions, not society. Therefore if a man commits a crime, to respect his humanity is to give him the proper punishment for that crime. Because he is a man he knows what he did and knew he would be punished for it. To do otherwise is not respect.
Tolerance is a horse of a different color. You should only tolerate that which can be tolerated. Tolerating intolerance is a suicide pact. If something is going to have what you view as a negative impact on society, you must be skeptical until they can prove such a course is neutral or good for society.
Finally, acceptance is the last level you should consider. You do not need to accept anything. Tolerance is one thing, it is the allowing of things you do not deem to be a societal good. Acceptance is endorsing or approving of something.
So to sum it up:
I respect the members of the left who would sell us down the river as human beings, I would not take action against their person. I tolerate their actions even though I find them to be treasonous, illogical, and anti-American. However, i do not accept their actions as a public good, nor do I feel the need to accept their inadequate arguments and treasonous behavior.