John McCain: a Hero, a Leader, and a Salesman

The Weasel, 12 monkeys and the Shrub, is a very powerful article with angles and views touching on all aspects of politics and political campaigns.  It used to be that candidates running for President were the one’s that could relate to the common public.  A real person for the people by the people.  However, times have changed, and not anymore does the homegrown American candidate come out victorious.

John McCain was a POW or prisoner of war.  He was shot down on a bombing mission, sustained broken bones and limbs, and taken to a prisoner camp. ( A reenactment of the mission gone bad,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F_HXtT4Dbw ) Here he was held in solitude, boxes the size of coffins and punishment rooms.  He was allowed his release once his captors discovered that his father was a high-ranking official, but McCain refused his release on the premise of a code that he must abide by that states: POW’s are released in the order of capture.  Due to this refusal McCain suffered more broken limbs and a four more years in his prison camp.

Seems like a hero right?  Well, yes, but it could also be conceived as just plain dumb.  Nonetheless, it allowed Americans to feel for this Senator running for President.  His message is that he wants to target the youth, to give them something to believe in, to fight for.  My generation was his target, the generation that has been dropping like flies in the voting polls.  Why? Because we simply don’t care, we have heard it all before, it doesn’t matter from which candidate, the message is still the same cliché pitch.  We are tired of being lied to!  However, McCain set out to change that showing the he was going to share the truth, that we could trust him and that he was a good ole’ American.

The problem is the politics involved with this process.  There is no way around it, McCain could preach all he wanted that he was trustworthy and that he was going to provide the truth and reach out to the youth, but it is still politics.  Like the article said, my generation has been accustomed to seeing politicians as great salesman, and it is tough to really distinguish a great leader from a great politician.  There have been a very few great leaders in our time, and the others who we have looked to for leadership have ultimately let us down, whether morally, ethically or politics wise.

McCain was here to set the issue straight that his campaign was not to promote himself, or his purpose for running had nothing to do with self promotion, but to help the youth and help the American community.  If McCain was selfish he would have got the first ticket out of POW camp when he had the chance, but yet he suffered for four years.  However, issues along his campaign trail cause issues for concern.

His counterpart, Bush, decided to strike with negative campaigns, which put McCain in a tough position.  If he did not respond he looked weak, but if he did respond he would be going against his word of being a calm, cool collected American with his head on straight and that would not attack others to receive votes.  Ultimately, he had to respond, but his response did not go over well, it made him out to be attacking others and this hurt him.(The idea behind Bush’s attack, was to have people get so disinterested with these hate campaigns that people would basically not give a care and would not vote, only leaving the die-hard voters, which would ultimately vote for him.)  This seemed like it would work until one town hall meeting.

Mrs. Donna Duren  stood up at the South Carolina town hall meeting/ questionnaire and told a very disturbing story of how her son Chris Duren(14) was looking for hope, truth, and a leader in society he could look up to.  He was struggling with this issue and Mr. and Mrs. Duren were struggling to help their son find an outlet he could look to.  Chris stumbled upon McCain’s website and found what he was looking for, a truthful, honest individual who wanted to lead this nation’s youth into the feature with goals to achieve and fight for.  One of Bush’s workers called the Duren’s household one night explaining to young Chris that McCain was a liar and not the man he claimed to be.  This hurt Chris very deeply, and crushed his spirits.  Mrs. Duren wanted to know if McCain was going to be able to do anything about this type of campaigning and what he was going to do about the youths problems.  McCain was in disbelief, even close to shedding a tear, he apologized and said he would call Chris personally and apologize himself.

What a stand up guy that McCain is, he truly does care about the people and what he preaches.  Initially, this is the thought, but then again what a great campaign strategy for McCain, having this true middle-class American family being heartbroken by McCain’s political foe.  McCain was right there ready to ease the pain and hurt, without having to run an ad, or compete in a debate against Bush.  It was the perfect ploy to get McCain back on his political campaign feet that had been swept away by his negative campaign ads.  It seems odd that this women out of a random 300 would ask such a question that would put Bush in a bad light, that gave McCain an out looking like a hero, not to mention her son is 14 why would anyone call to talk to him about this up coming election.  Whether McCain knew about this question or somehow hired this women to plug this question is unknown, but to me and my generation it comes away looking too good to be real.

The question is are there any true leaders out there that truly care about the overall good, or are there just salesmen that pitch greatness only to receive personal gain?

Gossip!

Sitting on  the couch with a week off of school… mhhhm what to do?

Being a fifth year senior and set to graduate this coming December, I did what anyone in my position would do… watch TV.

While channel surfing it became apparent to me that nothing worth my time was on TV, but somehow I was sucked into watching celebrity news.  It is so easy to get caught up in the world that is Hollywood.  But as time went on and I slowly started getting back to reality, I came to the conclusion that this entertainment I was watching was crap.

What relevance does Lindsay Lohan going to jail for the umpteenth time have for me, none.  Who cares, but people really do care.  Not only do they care, but people are obsessed with celebrities and their life styles, even going as far as to live how they live, or to act, walk and talk as they do.  To me I just don’t get it.  In a world today with the economy slowly regressing, natural disasters, violence, elections, war and many other hot issues that serve some relevance to our society, people of all ages seem to want to watch the fashion police, or the E! Channel to get the latest gossip on relationships and hook ups.

Don’t get me wrong I do indulge myself with some viewing pleasure once in a while, it is tough not to, but in what good are these programs doing.  It is not news, nor should it be considered news worthy, but yet it is still broadcast to see.  I just feel it gives a bad perception on how people should live their lives, being entrapped by celebrity gossip.  I wish the main focus would be on the economy, jobs, and security.

What I am trying to get at is that for a break, or a breather from politics, violence and policies, this type of celebrity news might be a good fit.  However, to have several stations and shows dedicated to this gossip, I do not necessarily agree with.  Let’s focus on more potent and relevant news that may affect our nation and world than Paris Hilton’s sobriety.

Fight, Perseverance, and some help from Mother Nature

“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.”

Albert Einstein

The truth can be harsh, and in the case of Mrs. Kelly and Dr. Ducker this proves relevant.  Mrs. Kelly was plagued with an unforgiving disease at birth and for 57 years as a child, mother, and a wife she struggled through pain that has left her body tangled, abused and battered.  She had had enough of her life taken from her through her pain in the back of her skull and it was her decision to put her life in the hands of Dr. Ducker’s medical team.

Mrs. Kelly was suffering with brain aneurysms and at the root of her problem was what she called “the monster”, something far worse than her aneurysms.  As operation may be her only source of relief,  she knew the outcome could be grim, but it was something worth fighting for.  Mrs. Kelly is fighting for life.  She had the attitude of a young adolescent, persistent, and to not be drawn down by limitations and restrictions.  She didn’t care what others advised or told her to do, she knew in her heart that this was her only option, her only chance at relief.

One and three, or a 33 percent chance of survival.  This was her diagnosis before operation.  Mrs. Kelly’s chances did not look good.  Dr. Ducker knew this but in his heart he knew that he must operate, and it was not going to be a routine procedure.

If you are looking for a happy ending or an uplifting story, than this article on Mrs. Kelly is not it.  On his plate Dr. Ducker is working with two brain aneurysms for a warm up and “the monster” for the main course.  The problem is that the aneurysms must be taken care of before “the monster” can even be tackled.

The first aneurysm is taken care of after a couple of hours of prodding, poking and clamping.  The next proves far more difficult.  When Dr. Ducker approaches the second aneurysm he comes across a catastrophic conflict.  “The monster” has spread all the way to the second aneurysm and has wrapped its vein like tentacles around it like a soldiers protecting their base.

Every time an attempt was put out at destroying this aneurysm “the monster” would send out more and more attacks.  From every angle this disease was impenetrable.  For over six and a half hours Dr. Ducker and his team worked on Mrs. Kelly trying to relieve her pain filled life, but in the end as Dr. Ducker said it was inoperable and it was time to let mother nature take her course.  That is if Mrs. Kelly survives what she has already endured on the operating table.

People often look at life like a fork in the road.  You choose to go down one road and you live with that choice.  You choose the other and the outcome will be different.  However, if this story teaches anything it is that life is not so predictable.  There is no set straight path where life will be all peaches and cream.   Mrs. Kelly could have gone down hundreds of roads in her life, but nothing would have changed the outcome in the end for her.

Just as the great Albert Einstein said, we know nothing about what mother nature has chosen for us, and for Mrs. Kelly this proves true.  She had no control of her disease and the limitations it put on her life, but she was not ready to go out without a fight.  Her chances may have been better if Mrs. Kelly’s  strong will and attitude were matched with a stronger body, but even then the outcome may not have been a happy one.

The medical team and Mrs. Kelly put up a valiant effort, but now there problem rests with mother nature.  The doctor’s may not give her a chance, but as we know mother nature and her works are not scripted.  So maybe mother nature will reveal a small percentage of that one thousandth of one percent to Mrs. Kelly and Dr. Ducker’s team.