Heroes...

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I am writing this on the 23rd of August, before my latest letter to the newspaper has even been published. I'll take heat for the "...dropping bombs...from 2o,ooo feet...", comment I made in it, but so be it.

This is not about Viet Nam, nor the Marines, sailors, National Guard folks, and soldiers who fought there. The treatment by the public of those brave men and women when they returned from simply doing their jobs gave me a stomach ache and broke my heart then, and it has the same effect to this day.

It's also not about innocent civilians getting killed. That's a fact of every war our country has fought since those very first shots at Lexington, and it's a tragedy.

John McCain more than lived up to the commitment he made when he accepted a great education at Annapolis. He is a brave man, and served his country honorably, but John McCain is not a hero.

As Chris Rock said once upon a time, "There. I said it. It had to be said."

A hero doesn't offer to trade military information in order to be taken to the hospital, which McCain not only did, but wrote about in the May 14th, 1973 issue of U.S. News & World Report.

A hero also doesn't accept special treatment because he has a father who is a Navy Admiral. It's not clear if he himself told the NVA who is father was, but it is clear that he accepted special treatment.

Beyond that, very basically and quite simply, true heroes don't talk about it.

Sure, they may go home, and answer the "How was your day, dear?" question. They may even get dragged to an awards ceremony. Then, it's over- except, of course, when then get asked to re-tell the story, and that fades with time.

I don't know the politics of all the people I am going to mention here, but most or all are ardent John McCain supporters and all are men I respect.

The difference is they understand what a true hero is. They get it, and John McCain doesn't.

If my postal carrier, Richard Pitts, ever pulls somebody out of a pool while out on his rounds, and revives them with CPR, or snatches a child out of traffic in the nick of time, you can bet your last dollar he will never again speak out about it on his own.

If the local police officer I know best, Todd Barnett, ever risks his life by pulling somebody out of a burning car after an accident, you can bet your last dollar on him, too.

And when was the last time anybody ever heard Scott Dozier or Steve Godden talk about any of the heroic things they did during their long careers?

Exactly.

And a true hero does not make the comments he does, like "I have experienced poor health care under another government" just to pander for votes.

On November 4th, vote the man- not the myths.