What can all of us learn from John McCain

Completely in accordance with his character, Senator John McCain (Republika Arizona) declared a day after it was discovered that he suffers from a serious form of brain cancer, that “unfortunately for my battle partners in Congress, I will be back soon, so stand by! ” The senator also issued a sharp criticism of President Trump's decision to end support for the Syrian rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's regime. Mr. McCain is not spending the night quietly.

We wish Mr. McCain any success as he examines his treatment options for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. There is no reason to comment further that his determination and fighting spirit are legendary.

But we have another wish: that Washington and the rest of the world stop for a moment to absorb the example that Mr. McCain decides every day. These are times of toxic and partisan warfare, where politicians will say all things, real or not, to gain an advantage. Otherwise, Mr. McCain was, for the most part, and more than any other practicing politician, convinced of his beliefs. He is in politics not only to gain, but, as long as a man is able to improve our world.

And worldwide, Mr. McCain is perceived in line with freedom and democracy. He has defended human rights by force and restlessness by speaking against oppression and authoritarianism and by inviting no, calling on his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats to testify with him on trips abroad. He has often welcomed victims of depression in the capital's corridors, providing them with assistance and encouragement in the fight against tyranny.

McCain has demonstrated a clarity that presupposes in the ugly atmosphere of dezinformation, propaganda, emancipation and complete lies that now prevail. The senator, as presidential candidate in 2000 and 2008, appealed to reporters with his opening on a campaign bus called Straight Talk Express. It was a refreshing and true idea.

In 2008, the presidential campaign returned badly in recent weeks. The crowds cried out with epithets and punched their hearts when they heard the name of Senator Barack Obama, the Democrat candidate. On October 10th, campaigning in a suburb of Minneapolis, Mr. McCain took the microphone from an elderly woman who had started saying he didn't like Mr. Obama because he was an Arab. No, ma'am. No, ma'am, ” said Mr. McCain. “He's a decent family man, a citizen that I just have fundamental differences about fundamental issues.” He added: “We want to fight and I want to fight, but we will be respectable. . . . That doesn't mean you have to reduce your ferocity. We just have to respect it. ”

This is an example for today. Basic clarity and respect speak more than slander, harassment, slander, and lying. It's not a kind of homesickness to wish for a policy of clarity and decency, so lacking today and so enshrined by Senator John McCain. / The Washington Post ) Read.al/