W.J. Astore

I’ve been seeing a lot of headlines, and reading quite a few tributes, about John McCain.  A common word used to describe him is “warrior,” as in this op-ed at Al Jazeera of all places.  If you do a quick Google search with “John McCain” and “warrior” you’ll see what I mean.

I’m a firm believer in the citizen-soldier tradition.  Warrior-speak, I believe, is inappropriate to this tradition and to the ideals of a democracy.  “Warrior” should not be used loosely as a substitute for “fighter,” nor should it replace citizen-sailor, which is what John McCain was (or should have been).

Yes, John McCain came from a family of admirals.  He attended the U.S. Naval Academy.  He became a naval aviator.  He was shot down and became a prisoner of war.  He showed toughness and fortitude and endurance as a POW under torture.  But all this doesn’t (or shouldn’t) make him a “warrior.”  Rather, he was a U.S. Navy officer, a product of a citizen-sailor tradition.

It’s corrosive to our democracy as well as to our military when we use “warrior” as a term of high praise.  Many Americans apparently think “warrior” sounds cool and tough and manly, but there’s a thin line between “warrior” and “warmonger,” and both terms are corrosive to a country that claims it prefers peace to war.

In sum, it says something disturbing about our country and our culture when “warrior” has become the go-to term of ultimate praise.  By anointing McCain as a “warrior,” we’re not praising him: we’re wounding our country.