10 Quotes From John McCain on Patriotism and Courage
Longtime US senator and decorated military veteran John McCain has died at 81. The news was confirmed on Saturday with a statement:
"Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28pm on August 25, 2018. With the Senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years."
McCain served the United States, first in the U.S. Navy, where he was imprisoned for more than five years during the Vietnam War. After his military service, McCain was elected to the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, where he represented the state of Arizona.
In the months before his death, McCain, who suffered from brain cancer, reportedly took stock of his life and how he’d like to be remembered. Below are 10 of his most inspirational, patriotic lessons to live by.
ON PATRIOTISM:
“I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else’s. I loved it for its decency, for its faith in the wisdom, justice, and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again; I wasn’t my own man anymore; I was my country’s.”
-during his Republican presidential nomination speech
"Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you, but is not defined by your existence alone."
– he wrote in his memoir, Faith of My Fathers
ON RESPECT:
“People who hold certain institutional positions should have your respect until they lose it. But the rest of us mortals have to earn it.”
-Esquire, 2000
ON COURAGE:
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the capacity to act despite our fears.”
-Fast Company, 2004
ON CHARACTER:
“It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy. That is all that really passes for destiny. And you choose it. No one else can give it to you or deny it to you. No rival can steal it from you. And no friend can give it to you. Others can encourage you to make the right choices or discourage you. But you choose.”
-From his book, Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember.
ON HEROISM:
“I’m sure you’ve noticed, I never talk about my experiences in prison. I’ve known too many professional heroes in my life.”
-New York Times, 2013
ON WAR:
“Nothing, not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify war. War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.”
-In a speech to the American Red Cross in 1999
ON PUBLIC SERVICE:
"I think after 9/11 we made a mistake. I think after 9/11, instead of telling Americans to take a trip or go shopping, I think we had an opportunity to call Americans to serve."
– on the presidential campaign trail, according to NPR
ON LOSING:
“It's very important to lose gracefully. You know, no bitterness, no anger, no remorse - can't display that.”
-Esquire, 2000
ON HIS LEGACY:
“I don't have a complaint. Not one. It's been quite a ride. ... I made a small place for myself in the story of America and the history of my times."
– he wrote in his new memoir, The Restless Wave.
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