I watched Aretha's on and off during the six+ hours of celebration. I was struck by how joyful it was. It was truly a great and appropriate ceremony to honor "The Queen of Soul". I feel, like many people of my age, that I grew up with Aretha. Her music was both the music of our generation and music for the ages. The celebration was large, boisterous, beautiful and symbolic. The speakers were as diverse as her Grandchildren, Jesse Jackson and former President Clinton. They were all so sincere in their awe and touching in their personal anecdotes. The music was a fitting tribute and some, like Chaka Khan and Ron Isely, evoked the glory of Motown of the past. From the long lines of pink Cadillacs that arrived from all over the country to the traditional Baptist emotion, it was at once a celebration, a remembrance and a show. It was every bit as good and poignant as Whitney's or Michael's, but there was a much larger sense of a life well lived. A sense of the impact on so many and the glory she evoked through music. And a sense of appreciation. Her music will live on for decades and generations. And whenever you hear it, you will think...Aretha! What a tribute. What a life. What an impact.
John McCain's long march to lay beside his flight school roommate, ADM Chuck Larson in the cemetery at Hospital Point on the Yard of the United States Naval Academy was no less impressive. But it was very different. After his death a week ago today, there was a bit of a dust up regarding honor rendered or not by President Trump and that stained the initial dignified week that I think all hoped for. You can read my take here. But beyond that, the ceremonies were glorious and heart wrenching. From the initial service in Arizona, to the service in the rotunda of the U.S. Capital, to the memorial service this morning in the National Cathedral, to tomorrow's private service and internment at USNA, I think the common word was dignified. Senator McCain lay in state in the Arizona capital and in the U.S. Capital, only the 31st person to be accorded that honor. And thousands of normal, everyday people passed by to honor him. It has been a week normally accorded to only the most revered and honored among us and to some it will seem inappropriate. But to most who recognize Senator McCain's sacrifices, his patriotism, his devotion to duty, and his impact it will feel right. While I didn't watch it all, there were a few standout moments for me. The images of Cindy McCain tenderly touching her cheek to his casket, Meghan McCain's obvious distress and inconsolable sadness, the two sons in uniform stoically providing a quiet strength, the casket on display in the Rotunda, and of course the majesty of the National Cathedral were all indelible and classically rememberable. Joe Biden's remarks in Arizona were great. I'm not a fan but I thought he did a great job. When he said passionately and with a catch in his voice that the family would someday remember Senator McCain not with a tear in the eye but a smile on the lips, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Senator Lieberman's remarks today were touching and borne of true friendship. And as much as I don't like him, I will freely admit that Barrack Obama is an eloquent speaker who today had the room in his hands. It was something. I'm glad that the ceremonies tomorrow at USNA are private. I can't imagine how tired, sad and distressed the family is and keeping tomorrow private is the right call. I can't embellish all the accolades, descriptions, remembrances or honors given to Senator McCain this week. So I won't try. I simply think he was a great man who loved his family, his country, and tried to do his best to promote the ideals he cherished.
Having said all that and not to take one iota away from the honors accorded to him, to me there was an undercurrent in the week that felt...petty. I was disappointed that at the end of his life his heroism that was shared with so many Vets, his accomplishments as one of our greatest statesmen, and his obvious charisma and leadership ability was somewhat tainted by his personal feud with our President. To be sure and as I've written in this blog many times, Trump can be insufferable, obnoxious and self-absorbed. And his insult to Senator McCain that we all heard regarding his heroism as a POW was abhorrent. But I somehow expected McCain would rise above it. I somehow expected that in the end, the love of country would ascend. But while McCain was great, he was also human. Although he was a great man, he was just a man. He demonstrated incredible honor and courage in the face of unimaginable torture and risked everything he was on the behalf of us all. And sometimes he was less than perfect...way less. I won't detail the knocks on him here...it doesn't matter. But in the end, I expected better. He had an opportunity to finish it for the country, but he failed. He chose to prolong the feud into the grave. He disinvited a sitting President to his funeral. His daughter in her eulogy, like her father was wont to do when he felt like it, stuck the knife in and twisted. He could have brought us together and instead the headlines are the snubs. He could have buried the hatchet and shown in the end his ultimate greatness, but instead chose to push Americans farther apart. And for this I am saddened.
But he doesn't have to be perfect for us to honor him. Like all of us he had flaws and yet still deserves to be honored. I am saddened at his passing. Saddened for the country and his family. Saddened that on Monday the vitriol will return and the haters will arise again from their hiding places. And here's the biggest thing. We don't seem to be making them like him much anymore. We lost another man among too few willing to step up. For all his flaws he was, as the great Theodore Roosevelt said, "in the arena". And he will never be "counted with those cold and timed souls who know neither victory or defeat".
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