At first glance, the white Navy pilot and the black civil rights leader had little in common. But on what really mattered, they were the same. Both were plainspoken men with minimal tolerance for fools who loved their country and suffered greatly for it. Both of them believed passionately in liberal democratic values and the possibility of progress. And so, John Lewis, like John McCain, was an American hero; the mural in Atlanta got it right.
Lewis performed one final service for his country by dying when he did. He reminded us that the struggles of the present have their roots in what is now a less controversial past. The other side used “law and order” as a rallying cry back then, too. It should be dismissed now as it was then.