Letter to the Editor: Ode to John McCain

I write this letter as an ode to John McCain, while he is still alive and fighting for his country. I write it for his prophetic spirit that speaks of profound threats to our Democracy and freedom. I write it because he is being attacked by people with no moral compass who do not even understand the heart that beats so passionately for the ideals this country used to stand for, and the body that has been so broken in the defense of those ideals.  

Fight on John! We hear you. We hear you even through the din of ugly voices touting your demise. We hear you through the slander being thrown at you by this President deriding your capture during the Vietnam War. We hear you in your passionate condemnation of torture since you were its evil victim. We hear your love for what this country used to stand for, before this political darkness descended upon us, with its hatred of the truth and its genius for creating the swamp of fake news.  Fake news that stokes the fires of prejudice, hatred and fear of people who are not white. Fake news that justifies fascist policies of tearing children from their parents who so desperately seek freedom. Fake news about a benign Russia.

We hear your condemnation of Russian interference in our election process and believe your message that Putin is not our friend, and follow your finger, pointing at the evil complicity of this administration ignoring the Russian threat to the freedom you fought so hard to defend.

Thank you for reminding us of who we truly are. Thank you for pointing us in the patriotic direction of protecting the principles this nation was built upon. Thank you for your spirit of resistance to the present darkness. Even in death, we will still hear you, and your spirit will move us to defend this country from its enemies without and within. Be at peace John. We will be your voice now, and we will prevail.

Patrick Cerra

Egg Harbor, Wis.