By John McCain with Mark Salter, from Faith of My Fathers n prison, I fell in love with my country. I had loved her before then, but like most young people, my affection was little more than a simple appreciation for the comforts and privileges most Americans enjoyed and took for granted. It wasn't until I had lost America for a time that I realized how much I loved her. But though I longed for the things at home I cherished the most, I still shared the ideals of America. And since those ideals were all that I possessed of my country, they became all the more important to me.
Freedom is America's honor, and all honor comes with obligations.
We have the obligation to use our freedom wisely, to select well from all the choices freedom offers. We can accept or reject the obligation, but if we are to preserve our freedom, our honor, we must choose well. That's not to say that I shed myself entirely of that attribute. I had not, and have not yet. But I no longer located my self-respect in that distinction.