The power of a person’s character

Could it be that his death is the salvation of America? That would be a real resurrection.

Senator John Mccain died of brain cancer at the age of 81. He had fought for his country, suffered five years in a prison camp, ran twice as a presidential candidate, and served as senator since 1986. Perhaps no one since J. F. Kennedy captured the hearts of America as he did, especially at the time of his death.

Sometimes awareness of what we had sinks into us only when it is gone. The farewell rituals surrounding John Mccain’s death have held before America and the world, the character of a man who embodied the vision of America. Although far from perfect, he lived out that vision to a fullness America and the world more widely recognized with his passing.

The quality of character of Sen- ator Mccain was well known to those who walked the corridors of power. If we were in touch with American politics, we have had glimpses of his independent ways. His firm opposition to President Donald Trump may have penetrated our consciousness. But it was the depth and breadth of the response to his death that really awakened many of us – me at least – to the depth and power of his dedication to the highest of human qualities.

Here was a person who knew in the core of his being that there are universal and abiding values. He knew that these fundamental ways of living must be integrated into our lives if humanity is to become what is in us to be. These values were awakened in various cultures throughout the world 2,500 years ago.

Since that time the awakened ideal has remained a shining light, urging us to rise above our littleness and embrace a loving, just and compassionate world. I keep repeating the prophet Micah’s exhortation to “do justice, love compassion, and walk humbly.”

We look to the great religious leaders like Mohammad, the Buddha and Jesus. And we know of many others who have stood out in the course of human history. There are also countless others, most of them unknown to us, who have also enlarged the lives of those about them because of who they were and are.

Integrity, courage, persistence, trust in the basic decency of humanity, marked Senator Mccain’s life. That he lived and fought for his vision of a noble country in the tension and turmoil of the political world marks him as special. He stood out as the “fierce conscience” of a nation striving to be true to the highest values of humanity. He was a highly visible embodiment of what a person can be and do in complex and trying situations.

The outpouring of response to what Senator Mccain envisioned and lived was surely heightened by the reality of Donald Trump. Trump’s self- centred, narrowminded, and mean-spirited governance is savaging America and the world – not least, Canada. To approach the world with a vindictive spirit that must demolish everyone who offers the slightest criticism bodes ill for everyone.

To deny scientific fact and refuse to believe in climate change puts us back a century or more. The dark shadow of Trump clouds the future not only of America but of all humanity.

Granted, Donald Trump is but the tip of the iceberg of a worldwide movement that wants to stop change. But Trump is the one who has the power to do enormous injury to the welfare of the earth and its people. If America ceases to be a democracy – and Trump is undermining everything that gets in the way of his power – then there will be no democratic superpowers.

The upsurge of response to the life and death of Senator John McCain is a bright light of hope. It is witness to the good in America. It is witness to the good in humanity.

America, America, you must grasp the moment, and rise to meet the crisis of our time. You must join the world in bringing justice and peace to a humanity threatening its own future.