What cruel game of fate is this, dear Lord, that Covid should kill a man like Colin Powell but spare one like Donald Trump…?
Colin L. Powell, who in four decades of public life served as the nation’s top soldier, diplomat and national security adviser, and whose speech at the United Nations in 2003 helped pave the way for the United States to go to war in Iraq, died on Monday. He was 84.
He died of complications of Covid-19, his family said in a statement. He had been fully vaccinated and was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, his family said.
Mr. Powell was a path breaker serving as the country’s first African American national security adviser, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state.
(The New York Times, October 18, 2021)
Truth be told, I can say nothing about Powell that is not already generally known. And nothing is more unseemly than people coming out of the woodwork when a famous person dies to pay tributes that flatter them more than honor the deceased.
So, to avoid any hint of funereal narcissism, I’m going to end my tribute by thanking him for living such a trailblazing, admirable, and exemplary life.
May his memory be a blessing …