but in reality, we were the ones who were privileged, privileged to have john mccain fighting for us, privileged to learn from him, privileged that when he was back home to run into him at the movies or at a ball game or starbucks, just like he was any one of us, privileged to proudly call him a fellow arizonan. to the rest of the world, john mccain was arizona. when all of us here traveled and told people we were from arizona, people knew two big things about it. john mccain and the grand canyon. imagining arizona without john mccain is like picturing an arizona without the grand canyon, it s just not natural. the woman who brought john mccain to arizona, cindy, thank
inside every american, bringing goosebumps to your arms and leaving the hair standing on the back of your neck. because, as you watch his release, and learn his story,th wisdom, take on a much more meaningful context. when john mccain called on us to serve a purpose greater than one s own self-interest, it wasn t a talking point designed to win the next election, it was how he lived his life and continued to live his life, it s how he wanted us to live ours. his talk of country first wasn t simply a slogan on a yard sign, it was what john mccain had done and demonstrated over and over and over again in the navy,
that they might be reminded that joy cometh in the morning. now as we go forward, let us remember thy humble servant with gladness and cheerfulness, to answer his call, to summon the better angel of our nature, to see and appreciate the humanity in our opponents, to more freely forgive so that we might be forgiven. of this we pray in the name of jesus christ. amen. amen. please stand. we have thanked god for the blessing that john mccain is, continues to be for us. let us go now from this place in
central message. he had a chance here during this final year of his life to craft that and drive home that. is that what we re seeing now in these days of remembrance? that message, that legacy, what he wanted to leave behind, people getting that? i think so. he said many times and it could sound like a slogan, he was important to serve a cause greater than one s self. that is how he managed to reach across, the cause was the american ideals, it wasn t john mccain, it wasn t just conservatives or the republican party and you could reach across and not compromise your belief in those kind of things, republicans, conservatives because the country was more important. that was the lesson of his life, how he lived it and people are beginning to understand it. great lesson at this time. do you have any personal stories? every person that has come on
john mccain was from somewhere else, but his spirit, service and fierce independence ultimately helped shape the state with which he became synonymous. almost exactly 20 years ago, john mccain delivered the eulogy at barry goldwater s funeral, that other great legendary arizonan, who america holds dear in his heart. where barry goldwater was born in arizona, john mccain was arizona s favorite adopted son. nearly 45 years old when he moved to arizona, this is the first place, he said, where he truly found a connection. arizona has enchanted and claimed me, he wrote, i love it so much and i m so grateful for the privilege of representing the state and its people.