John McCain wrote a book in (2004) that I read with admiration. The book was entitled, Why courage matters: the way to a braver life. In this book (his third), McCain addressed the crisis of courage that American were facing, and encouraged all Americans to find the courage to speak unpopular truths when it becomes necessary. I thought it was a very poignant reminder to Americans that bullying is not courage. That power does not make courage. That sometimes principle must trump the desire for security in a courageous life.
"Build your courage," said John McCain, "revive your reverence for values of a free society and the virtues of decent people. We have something worth being brave for: liberty and justice."
It was a very timely message. On March 19, 2003, the United States attacked the nation of Iraq based on a systematic campaign of lies about that country, its military capability, and its intentions.
The American public went along with that invasion out of fear, weak deference to authority, and a desire for revenge against those who perpetrated the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001. There was only one problem. Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, had absolutely nothing to do with the WTC tower attacks of 09/11/01. Instead of apprehending those who did. President Bush attacked a tiny, virtually unarmed, and defenseless country.
That attack was not only against the wrong enemy, it was an act of unmitigated cowardice. Iraq was not attacked because it possessed "vast stockpiles of "weapons of mass destruction" and an advanced nuclear weapon development program. Iraq was attacked precisely because it did not have those weapons, and could not defend itself.
The 19 March 2003 invasion of Iraq was an act of national cowardice. Within a year or so, we all knew that right? We might have pretended to others that we did not, but we knew it full well.
American exhibited its fear to the world, and it inability to overcome that fear. It was a display of cowardice that the country can't redeem.
The simple truth is that leaders were allowed to get away with starting a war based on lies because too many people didn't have the courage or the integrity to stand up and speak out, though I believe the majority knew what was right. When fear is allowed to outweigh reason, that's called cowardice.
John McCain, "We’re all afraid of something. Some have more fears than others. The one we must all guard against is the fear of ourselves. We are taught to understand, correctly," wrote John McCain, "that courage is not the absence of fear but the capacity for action despite our fears,"
Over the past 6 years or so, I've collected examples of one dozen people who have demonstrated courage in very ordinary lives. Courage is not always brought on by extraordinary events, and it doesn't require extraordinary circumstances. We all have occasions to live courageously; we can do it every day. In fact, we should feel compelled to live our lives, regardless of how mundane, courageously.
John McCain understood courage at one time. What happened? Can it be explained away simply as the encroachment of old age? Please tell me that isn't what I have to look forward to (I am 53).
I believe the main problem Americans face today is the same one that guided the policy decision of the Bush Administration: a crisis of courage. Americans haven't suddenly grown a backbone. The only thing that's kept Americans from staring more panic-driven wars (in Iran, Syria, North Korea) is impending bankruptcy.
And John McCain has become a pitiable wretched old man; full of fear and hate, it seems.
He's an example of how quickly and dramatically old age and mental infirmity can reduce a man. That's life, I suppose. But that doesn't make it any less tragically sad. And I pity him.
I believe John McCain is going to lose the Republican nomination for his Senate seat in August, and he's about to get a much-deserved retirement from politics. I thank God that Americans rejected him and his fear-driven agenda in 2008. Americans didn't need more of that, and Americans certainly didn't need to lose yet another war. Please. One humiliating defeat at a time.
Why Courage Matters, The Way to a Braver Life
Random House, April 2004
Available in hardcover and in an abridged 2-hr audio format on 2 CDs:
http://www.randomhouse.com/...