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As I age, I become aware of the importance of forgiving enemies and dealing with my memories of the disappointments and difficult times of my life in a positive way. It is important not just for religious or spiritual reasons but for one's own health and well-being. And forgiving others means forgiving the pain that others inflicted on you and asking for forgiveness for the pain you may have inflicted on others -- and letting it go.
So, where does McCain stand on this? No matter what he says, it is obvious that he is obsessed with what happened to him in Hanoi. It defines his life. It excuses his failings, his mistakes. It seems as if his time as a POW made him the man he is.
Now, please understand, McCain's ordeal rightfully earns him a lot of respect and gratitude. But, unless he can show that he has come to terms with the pain of that ordeal, rather than qualify him for the presidency, it may disqualify him.
Here's why: It is apparent that McCain recalls that horrible ordeal practically every day of his life. If you have ever experienced a serious accident or shock or had a painful operation, you will know that every time he thinks about his suffering in that camp, he invokes not only the horrible memory of that time but also the physical sensations that he experienced, the anger he felt, all the pain, all the negative emotions that he associates with his thoughts, images, memories and feelings of that time. He raises up within himself his sorrow, his fear, his anger of that time. He may be used to those feelings, but they are there, and they are poison.
Serious trauma like that can scar a person not just physically but emotionally for life. And he suffered 5 1/2 years of it. This is true even of people who seem to have adjusted and to have achieved their dreams in their everyday life. I know someone (a very successful person) who suffered the trauma of war as a child -- and still woke up every night screaming when he was in his 30s. The memory of that kind of trauma never leaves entirely -- not even after therapy.
It seems unfair, I suppose, to exclude a person from the presidency because of his extremely traumatic past, especially when he suffered the trauma while in the service of our country. We know that, as a nation, we owe John McCain and the POwS who suffered with him our compassion, our respect and our gratitude. But, considering that McCain is so fixated on his period as a POW in prison, I think voters should get more information on his psych records before voting for him.
As I said, I am not challenging his heroism. I am challenging whether he or any other person can recover from such trauma to the degree that they are ready to take the tremendous stress of the presidency. Look what the office did to Reagan, to Clinton and what it is now doing to GWBush. And then there are Nixon and Johnson. Carter and GWB's father -- each of whom who served only 4 year terms appear to have fared better than the others. But -- what did Clinton get at the end after it was all over -- heart problems -- and Reagan -- Alzheimers (perhaps or perhaps not related to the stress of office), Nixon -- infamy, and Johnson -- left office very discouraged.
I question whether McCain has the mental health to handle the presidency -- and every time he responds to a question by invoking his POw past, he makes himself seem more off kilter and I question his capacity all the more.
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