Though this maxim certainly applies to 'the good and the great', to the best - though not necessarily brightest - that humankind has had 'on offer' (i.e.open to public display, to the public gaze) throughout the centuries and millennia, I reserve my thoughts and best wishes today for a much-overlooked and underrated politician in that land of such turbulence, of political turmoil and tension, the United States of America... . No, not on this occasion for the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and others of their calibre - nor of course in this instance obviously for such larger than life folk as the legendary (but very real) biblical folkhero Job (about whom Yours Truly has been compiling a layperson's guide for the last umpteen years or so)...and of course above and beyond and infinitely surpassing this 'suffering innocent' and his Scriptural compatriots such as the patriarch Joseph (and even Moses - and many others) stands That Supremely (if temporarily) Tragic - but Ultimately Triumphant/Victorious - Innocent Sufferer Jesus Christ Himself... .
Having made the foregoing elaboration, I greatly hesitate to include any especially present-day flawed and failing individuals among such illustrious company, yet - having stated my initial intention so to do, let me forthwith proceed...but again make a briefest as diversion to another seemingly quite insignificant but worthy individual whose inclusion bears tribute to the salutary lesson that those things - and moreover people - who stand so small 'in the world's eyes' may perhaps - at times - stand greatest in Heaven's estimation... . No, I refuse to subscribe to the media-hyped-up concept that such-and-such and so-and-so an individual is 'worth' so many millions and/or billions sheerly due to the inordinate size of her or his bank balance and other monetary assets, pecuniary interests and/or material accumulations - whereas the beggar eking out a precarious existence in this world's garbage heap is somehow supposedly worth nothing - not only in comparison but presumably even in absolute terms... .But not so did my Lord and Saviour so view things, for as has so often been said, by those engaging in consecrated reflection upon His own infinite sacrifice on Golgotha's cross, if there were no other individual than you or I - or that pauper in this world's system - then, wonder of wonders and miracle of miracles (to directly quote a phrase from a song on the record track of that interesting Jewish operatic of yesteryear, 'Fiddler on the Roof')...yes, the God Man Himself would have given His own precious life to save even that one...from eternal damnation... .
The individual concerned? A young would-have-been, i.e. 'wannabe' filmmaker named 'Cameron', a teenager who inadvertently as it were crossed the path of that exemplary New Zealand filmmaker, director, producer and scriptwriter Sir Peter Jackson and his *equally much-overlooked co-producer and co-writer, wife Fran Walsh - alongside their *equally much overlooked co-writer, Philippa Boyens (who together helped convert JRR Tolkien's epic classic The Lord of the Rings into the film sensation it has now long since become). Cameron, still in his late teens then (if I recall rightly), was soon diagnosed with **cancer (of the blood - leukemia), I believe, and so passed from this life into the seemingly gray ether of the grave, or 'Hades' as it was once known.... But not before Peter Jackson and co made his acquaintance, or he theirs, and thus a wonderful song, 'Into the West', was born that not only encapsulated the very spirit of the denouement of the Great Controversy for the heart of Middle-earth, but in a very real was is its signature tune and parting-gift to posterity.
Though itself now necessarily a mere footnote in this spiel, let me finally make the briefest of mentions here to the original subject of this blogpost...whom I'm dead certain no-one will have guessed. It's the former republican presidential hopeful, the oft-maligned senior senator from Arizona, a Mr John McCain. Though in my own view as a person and human being, every whit as decent and upstanding and fine an individual as the man who bested him, i.e. President Barack Hussein Obama, this former war prisoner and subsequent hero of the Korean War has now appeared unflinchingly before the United States Congressional Panel on Security (I believe) to champion the cause of true democracy in a land wherein the very concept seems to have been on the slippery slide for quite some time already...in clear and decided 'opposition', of sorts, to his own party's President-to-be, Donald J Trump...a patriotism also shown by his 44-year predecessor, fellow Arizonan Senator and Republican Party Presidential standard-bearer Barry Goldwater...who proved his own patriotism to his nation and its democratic traditions and principles by having the guts and the balls to stand up to his own party's one-time President, the infamous Richard Milhaus Nixon - in the renowned Watergate trials. Such would have inevitably resulted in impeachment had not Nixon himself preempted that unwanted outcome by resigning. Again, Goldwater braved fellow Republicans' ire by likewise confronting a subsequent Republican President, the very popular Ronald Reagan - indeed over the very issue that saw my own long-since-deceased Dad 'tear up' his own American citizenship and become a naturalized New Zealander: i.e. the illegal bombing of innocents in Central America during the Iran Contra scandal and suchlike (in the nations of El Salvador and Nicaragua).
Yes, Senator McCain, you yourself have now once again - and in a way that puts and places it beyond doubt or risk of repudiation - proven your quality, as Samwise Gamgee of the Shire said of Faramir of Gondor...in your courageous willingness - whatever opprobrium comes your way...(and yes, you have made some awful decisions in times past, most notably the selection of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as your running-mate in 2008)...to stand for truth and democracy, and in a world where lip service is increasingly paid to both (but inversely less real respect).
*My own sins now come to mind, as - following a marathon session in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year, during which - as I prepared to finally part with the precious treasure of the entire dvd series of the same to some presumably appreciative nephews of mine - I reviewed all the background 'guff' (after reviewing all the extended films). And thus and so I'd fully intended, to the extent of even making a rudimentary mental outline (if perhaps not on paper) of a tribute to the same folk, i.e. Jackson's much ignored and sidelined partner Fran Walsh and their close confidante and fellow creator Philippa Boyens...but that now for another occasion, and mention - if brief and passing - herein will now have to suffice... .
**Weirdly a once close secondary school friend - of then and subsequent inter-school Christian fellowship association, as well as chess-playing prowess and dogged rivalry - of mine returned to my home town upon my first viewing of this story (alongside the entire dvd series), himself suffering from the ghastly condition of non-Hodgkin's Lymphona (sp?), and within months himself passed off the stage of this mortal plane...but not before fulfilling a lifetime dream to visit the especially scenic western states of America (such as Utah, Colorado and Arizona). He then suffered a debilitating heat exhaustion that saw him enter a medical clinic (or several)...and three weeks later (after his trip began) returned home to his Mum and Dad (who live/d a few blocks away), within a month received an invoice for medical treatment to the tune of $2,000 or so, and then after he'd died (a month or so on) was subject to the indignity of his surviving parents being forced to pretty well mortgage all their accumulated financial assets as they sought to pay off a further bill (from the aforementioned) for around 20 grand or so...but that for another day... .
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