I don’t care for the self-serving, hate-mongering simpletons of either party, and my guess is neither does John McCain. But he’s had to get into bed with many of the right-wing ones to mobilize many of the party's most reliable voters--though frequently the least well-rounded. In league with them, a man that kept his countrymen’s spirits high and his own integrity clean in a prison-camp hole in VietNam has started to dirty his character by attacking Obama (no flawless choirboy himself) in some pretty outrageous ways.
But today, for a singular moment, like a philandering husband overpowered with a suddenly-active moral compass, John McCain got off that soggy mattress, stood up tall, and said essentially, “No, I’d rather lose with integrity — than win on the backs of an ignorant mob.”
Not every politician is able to do that, even when the odds are looking long, as they are now for McCain. Democrats by the smoky-roomful and Republicans by the smokey clubhouse-full have often sold their honor for our votes. I saw the tension in McCain's face as he spoke, for his mind knew the consequences of acting with integrity in a room that wanted a boogeyman.
I don’t know who’s going to win this election. And I don’t know whether this sudden clarity of purpose and commitment to truthfulness will stay with McCain. But my heart was buoyed by seeing McCain’s integrity re-surface under pressure-- or under the weight of self-respect and appropriate shame. No one who’s served their country as painfully and faithfully as he has deserves to let our lowest mob impulses drag him down to the lowest common denominator. That, my friends, might sometimes win elections. But it's always the stuff of tragedy, not triumph.
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Matthew 16:26
3 comments:
This seems like the right place, at least, to weigh in a the financial panic that has over taken our country. No, I didn't mean to say crisis, I meant to say panic. As a newcomer to Kaw Prarie I don't want to come off as not affected by all of this. Ironically my entire profession is linked into the middle of all of this. However, those of us who have been good financial people (registered reps, stock brokers, financial consultants, whatever you want to call us)we are beginning to realize that maybe, finally, we have an audience willing to hear what we have been trying to say all along. We can help define the words "loss" and "shares" and what the different phases of money really are. Until people are willing to listen, it is hard to educate. But once people understand how money works and at least attempt to take the emotion out of money, that's when the real empowerment begins. So maybe I've been a pastors kids my entire life but I had a hard time believing what God Gives, He takes away. I also don't want people to feel like they had anything taken away this past week. You'll only lose the money if you sell. You still have as many shares as you did this time last week. And when those shares rebound (as they will if everyone would not panic and let the system work) the value of those shares will increase and you'll "gain". So maybe God isn't taking anything away from you, God is telling you to wake up, take the free advice those who know and have passed very difficult tests just to try and help you and understand that if you make good decisions with the brain God gave you and not let money run your heart but rather your head, we'll be OK. I believe God wants us to be smart and successful and prosperous, but just as I take my doctors advice when I'm sick assuming who am I to question the doctor, you too have an army of financial doctors at your beckon call and the best part of most of us make house calls for FREE!
Well said, Darla. My buddy (& financial advisor) said something similar yesterday-- "it's not a loss unless you sell." Here's praying that many folks don't have to sell any stock anytime soon-- and actually have the money to buy low!
Given the comments from today, I still think some Finances 101 are in order at Kaw Prarie. If anyone needs money in the next 5 years the market is no place for it anyway, in good times or bad. The 2 phases of money, accumulation, conservation, distribution...everyone forgets the conservation step which is when the return OF your money is more important than the return ON your money.
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