Monday, August 27, 2018

Alexandria Carrington-The Death of John McCain and Recovering Veterans

McCain spent 23 years in the Navy, five of those years spent as a POW in Vietnam.  Because he was the son of a Rear Admiral, his captors offered to free him, but McCain refused unless all other POWs were released with him.  When Senator McCain was released and returned to the country he turned his eye to the political arena, ran for public office in 1982 and quickly became a senator of Arizona in 1987. He spent over 60 years of his life as a servant to this country and has more than earned the respect given to him by his fellow veterans. 
Following the news of his death, veterans have taken to showing tribute to him in various ways.  One veteran stood vigil at the Arizona State Capitol, another drove to Senator’s family home to salute and pay his respects.  Many other veterans have taken to social media to express how the senator touched their lives and how much he meant to so many people.

  • Author:  Brianna Sacks is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.  She wrote an article on 8/26/18 titled Veterans Are Sharing Moving Stories About Meeting John McCain.
  • Place and Time:  The article that I have chosen was written only yesterday, and the wounds from John McCain’s death are still fresh, so this article depicts emotions that im sure we all feel. Arizona senator, former presidential candidate, and POW survivor John McCain passed away over the weekend and veterans all around the country are sharing their love, gratitude and condolences for the fallen hero. 
  • Prior Knowledge:  Over the weekend I have listened to my mom, a Navy veteran, comment on what a loss this country has suffered losing John McCain.  I was not aware that the senator campaigned against Former President Obama in 2008, but my mom told me that John McCain was the only republican nominee for president that she would have voted for. 
  • Audience:  This article was written for people who knew how caring and humane McCain was, but also for the people like me who know nothing about politics or the people involved. The audience is most definitely positively affected because of the knowledge that we get to inquire about a great man and how people are celebrating his life.
  • Purpose:   The article was written to commemorate John McCain.
  • Significance: The article reveals how these tributes from normal, everyday heroes, our veterans, stood in stark contrast to the President of the US’ two sentence tweet in response to McCain’s passing.  I am ashamed of how our president treated the passing of this national hero.  John McCain was a patriot to look up to, he was a fine human being and this country is a darker place for his passing
  • Synthesis:  In the distant and recent past, our country has lost many influential and courageous people like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Prince. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln stands out to me especially because of his humane and sensitive soul and ability to connect with others the way that McCain could. Similar to the death of McCain, many people mourned in silence or with tributes, and the wounds will not be healed quickly.

1 comment:

  1. I knew a tiny bit about John McCain before- mainly that he was one of the few respectable politicians. I think it was very honorable of him to never try to slander/defame his opponent. It is very sad that the President isn’t giving John McCain the respect he deserves. Not only did McCain risk his life for this country, he was tortured.

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