Randi Kreiss

Thanks for your service, Senator McCain, but there’s more

Posted

Dear John McCain,
As Americans celebrate Memorial Day, we remember our debt to you. Many of us know that during the Vietnam War, you served not just with distinction, but also with singular selflessness and courage. When your active service was over, you moved into the political arena. Since 1987 you have represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate. You have worked on numerous prestigious and powerful committees and helped enact important new laws. And although you have proudly carried the Republican banner, you often reached across the aisle to get the right things done.

You are 80 years old, Senator. Surely you deserve an easy and peaceful denouement to your long and storied career, but these are extraordinary times. Duty calls again, sir. You are not done yet.

Following the low-end 2016 presidential election, the spectacle of the Trump Family Coronation and the subsequent unraveling of our government, we need a few good men and women to step up. Evidence is emerging that Russia not only had a hand in influencing the presidential election, but also laws might have been broken by the coterie of Trump hires, hacks and incompetents, along with a few misguided true believers in the alt-right agenda. If we look through the glass darkly, we can see the potential loss of the democratic values that made America great a long time before Trump emerged.

This is your call to service, again, Senator McCain. We need people on the inside of government to challenge the new regime. Maybe bring along your pals Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman. You men have seen and done it all. You have three lifetimes of experience, and you don’t have much to lose if you step up. But if you don’t, we could all lose the country we love.

Sir, we need you again to help lead the resistance. The stakes have never been higher — nothing less than the future of our democracy. Really, Senator, this could be your finest hour.

Sincerely,
Randi Kreiss


For those who don’t know the details, John McCain is the son and grandson of four-star Navy admirals. He, too, attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and graduated with lots of partying to his credit but not stellar grades. He ranked 894th out of 899.

He would not be truly tested until he was shot down over Vietnam on Oct. 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission when a missile hit his plane. He ejected, but broke both arms and a leg in the crash, and he was bayoneted by the North Vietnamese soldiers who found him and dragged him to the infamous prison known as the Hanoi Hilton.

For weeks he received no treatment. Within two months, he had lost 50 pounds and his hair had turned white. He survived two years in solitary confinement. His captors beat and tortured him.

In 1968, after discovering that McCain’s father was an admiral, the North Vietnamese offered to release him early. But in a decision that distinguished him for all time as a hero, McCain refused preferential treatment and declined the offer. After that he was subjected to even more severe physical abuse. At one point he tried to kill himself to end the suffering.

After being in prison for 5½ years, he was released on March 14, 1973. To this day, the injuries he sustained prevent him from lifting his arms above his head. One cannot imagine the psychological pain and suffering he endured.

The senator’s life and history of service and suffering are worth noting because he is a great soldier, and we are engaged now in another battle, this time for the survival of our American way of life. That sounds hyperbolic, but when new laws target specific religions, environmental protections are dismantled, and inexperienced Trump family members take on positions of influence and power, we know we’re in trouble.

McCain has been out front among his fellow Republicans, one of only a few entrenched GOP leaders who are willing to speak truth to the Trump power brokers. He has called out bad decisions, bad behavior and reckless statements flowing from the Oval Office.

During his years at the Hanoi Hilton, McCain put country before party or personal gain. I’m thinking we can count on him to man the barricades again.

Copyright © 2017 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.