Posted on 05/26/2006 3:23:30 PM PDT by RWR8189
JOHN McCAIN IS, without a doubt, heroic.
Disagree with his politics, mistrust his shifting political alliances, but no one who's benefited from the tortured sacrifices he made at the Hanoi Hilton should question his integrity. How can we, whole in body and strangers to the hell he experienced, challenge this patriot? To do so indicates a fundamental inhumanity.
That aptly describes the young woman who stood up last week and ridiculed the senator from Arizona. Jean Sara Rohe, a graduating senior at the New School in New York, introduced McCain before he delivered his commencement address.
Ms. Rohe took the opportunity to attack McCain because he supports the war in Iraq, making him a proxy for the president she and her ilk so obviously detest. Her words, dripping with the elite disdain perfected by liberals, is an example of how the pampered progeny of the boomers are always demanding rights without acknowledging prior debts.
The righteous Ms. Rohe was only able to give voice to her beliefs because of McCain and others like him who sacrificed their youth (and, in some cases, their lives) to secure the freedom of strangers. You wonder what sacrifices this young woman has ever made for her country, or if she even thinks it merits the effort.
The disrespect didn't stop there. At one point, the school's president, Bob Kerrey, admonished the crowd to let McCain speak, dryly noting that it takes courage to stand at a lectern but none to scream from the crowd.
The response? Kerrey, who left part of his own leg on a battlefield in Vietnam and who received the Medal of Honor, was called a "war criminal." Given the caliber of the accuser, this is actually high praise.
To hear these things makes my blood boil. What type of people are we, so mired in our partisan anger, that we dare attack the few and singular examples of valor in our midst?
McCain, Kerrey and their comrades deserve respect and gratitude. If we disagree with their politics, the remedy is at the ballot box. But to label as "criminals" men who withstood physical assaults that make Abu Ghraib look tame? Citizenship is wasted on such as these.
Like Vietnam, Iraq is a lightning rod for controversy. Many Americans genuinely feel that we should never have invaded a country that (they say) posed no strategic threat. Many others believe that the threat existed, and provide salient arguments to counter the tired claim of "the president lied." Still others believe that even though the invasion was flawed in its execution, it was a necessary exercise of executive authority. Our country is divided, and the rhetorical battles are as fierce as the real ones.
But regardless of our personal convictions, there is no place in public discourse for the rantings of spoiled children who have never risked life or limb for the greater good. The First Amendment protects their right to protest, even though it is defiled by the content of their thoughts. Unfortunately, it doesn't endow them with courage or character.
Of course, some would disagree. Arianna Huffington has called Ms. Rohe fearless, or words to that effect. Others have praised Jodie Foster, who graced our local Penn graduates with a nice rap song and some ruminations on how we squandered the good will of the world's people.
Still others think that Mumia Abu-Jamal has something of value to impart from his seat on death row. Cop-killers, actresses and clueless little girls. Our graduates are truly blessed.
What most upsets me is that hardly anyone in the liberal community has criticized the attack on McCain. Remember the outrage at "swift-boating" and the indignant defense of Jack Murtha?
Those who were rightly upset at the mud thrown in John Kerry's direction are conveniently silent when it comes from their own side. Those who said we should listen to Murtha's call for an immediate withdrawal of troops because of his war record turn their backs on McCain and stigmatize Kerrey. Their hypocrisy is limitless.
My wish for Ms. Rohe is that, away from the admiring cameras and accompanied only by her conscience, she make as great a mark on society as John McCain and his brothers-in-arms. But I doubt it. The only Hilton she'll ever occupy belongs to Paris' daddy.
What has he done that is traitorous?
I think every Senator that tried to sign away the sovereignty of this country over the past week by voting for that POS bill that came out of the Senate today is a traitor to his constituents, his state, his oath and his country.
NOBODY is "Fit to Shine McCain's Boots"!
What made him a "war hero?" He survived years of horrible captivity at the hands of the North Viets, but he himself does not consider himself a hero. In fact, he was induced to record and anti-American radio address while still in captivity. I think he is a dangerous guy and his pro-illegal immigration stance tells us what kind of idiot he really is. He can never be elected to the presidency!
The whole bill shocks me. I thank God every day for strong men like we have in the House. They will (hopefully) make mincemeat of the spineless jelly-fish coming from the Senate.
I disagree. I don't care for those that heckle a speaker. I don't care if they are right or left. Let them present their views uninterrupted. However, I'm all for a legitimate question and answer session. Anything else is just playing silly games.
I disagree.
No, no problem at all.
Bommer, thanks for your post #15.
The only one that benefitted from McCain's sacrifices at the Hanoi Hilton was John McCain.
And after what he did to the POW-MIA families, I won't ever believe he isn't some kind of Manchurian Candidate.No one who was a prisoner for five years could ever do that to these families.
Well, I've seen some pretty mean spirited things on this thread. He does deserve respect for his past service. However, I think he has lost his way. I need a hero in the Congress now. I need someone who is uncompromising, true to our founding fathers and not willing to bend our laws for political currency. McCain is not fitting the bill.
I need someone who is uncompromising, true to our founding fathers and not willing to bend our laws for political currency. McCain is not fitting the bill.
NO MAS!
Great minds think alike? ;-)
And the apology was tantamount to writing the correction on page A-16.
Furthermore, his honorable military service in no way entitles him to a free pass to rape and pillage the Constitution and Bill of Rights, as he has done throughout his post-military public life.
I agree. Welcome to FR.
What kind of upbringing did these snot nose kids have? No manners, no class. Tacky, tacky, tacky.
Great minds think alike? ;-)
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