McCain was everything politicians should be, but aren't

Last weekend, we learned that U.S. Sen. John McCain had succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 81.

It didn't take long for the tributes to start pouring in from all over the world, lauding this man as a war hero and calling him a man of great integrity.

And I would most certainly agree with that sentiment.

But what fascinated me the most was McCain's sense of fair play. He would not allow his political goals to shroud the truth. If push came to shove, he would even stand against members of his own party in order to right a wrong.

When supporters of his incorrectly referred to Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election as an Arab, non-citizen or anti-American in any way, he was quick to stop the attack and point out that simply wasn't true.

He described Obama as a "decent man" and simply one who he disagreed with politically, but that he held absolutely no animosity toward his opponent.

Wouldn't it be nice if the political ads we see today in Illinois (ad nauseam) were more respectful of one another?

That's one of the reasons why voters get so turned off with elections and choose not to participate. It's the gossip, the dirt, the mudslinging, the accusations, half truths and yes, even the lies that sour us on politics.

Most all politicians could take a lesson from McCain and avoid the personal attacks when campaigning for office. It would be a refreshing change.

I find it interesting that McCain or his family asked both Obama and former President George W. Bush to eulogize him this week.

One person who was not asked to speak was President Donald J. Trump. In fact, Trump is not even welcome to attend the funeral.

That speaks volumes to me.

<h3 class="breakHead">Call of the week</h3>

I would like to think I've heard it all when dealing with the public in my 30-plus years of newspaper work. But I stand corrected.

Last week, I received a call from a gentleman (I will not name him here) who was irate with the newspaper and me for printing a state bicentennial feature on the 1908 race riot in Springfield and how that led to the creation of the NAACP.

Each week, the state submits a feature to newspapers belonging to the Illinois Press Association celebrating the state's 200th birthday. This is but one of 30 or so that have printed to date.

The caller told me in no uncertain terms that we were instigating our own riot by printing this article.

Apparently, his point was that we shouldn't ever talk about such horrific things as blacks being beaten or killed by whites. Even if that did happen, what's in the past is in the past.

What I tried to explain to our reader was that we don't stick our heads in the sand and try to forget about the past.

We don't forget the KKK's influence in Williamson County during the 1920s that was later termed "Bloody Williamson."

We don't forget blacks being hunted down and hung for sport. We don't forget how the Civil War pitted brother against brother. Illinois has its share of ugly history to go with its wondrous history.

To forget or ignore the past is to repeat our mistakes, not learn from them.</group><group id="17C3189E-AE71-4024-93B9-989D53BFD155" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels>