Letters to the Editor
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McCain mystique
Getting shot down on your seventh bombing mission is not heroism, it's just shitty luck. Stoicism in captivity is admirable and I truly respect McCain for that. But neither makes you a hero, a word used so commonly for any former or current member of the military as to have no significance anymore.
I (and I think many other veterans) was always uncomfortable with the "hero" label being applied to everyone serving in the military. A hero, in military culture, is someone who does something so extraordinarily selfless for his comrades, unit or country that it stands out as beacon of exemplary conduct above the simple call of duty.
It's time for all of us, including John McCain, to move beyond this rhetorical device and admit that his military service wasn't all that long or varied and doesn't bestow any special cachet of experience for the office of president.