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Between the Senate, the president, the national media, and now, the Boston College community, John McCain has commanded a lot of attention lately. As he arrived on campus Monday evening, he faced the challenge of not only addressing some 5,000 students and faculty in the third annual Freshman Convocation address, but of once again publicly holding steadfast to his own ideals.

McCain told the freshman class to persist resolutely in whatever endeavors they embark upon in ways that uphold their own personal values, a concept he has called into practice many times in recent weeks. He also touted the importance of civil service, whether in the field of politics, community service, or leadership.

"No one gains more from public service than the person who engages in it," said McCain in a private interview before his speech. "There is nothing more rewarding than serving a cause greater than your own self." He said students should look for ways to serve their communities, country, and the world.

Between distinguished careers in the Navy and the Senate, McCain has lived his life in pursuit of the service he advocated to the BC community. As a civil servant and politician, McCain said he finds fulfillment in serving a greater good than himself, and he encouraged others to do the same.

"To sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself, and to sacrifice your life to the eminence of that cause," he said, is the noblest activity of all.

McCain also invoked the importance of using one's gifts to give back to one's country, to embrace and perpetuate the liberty associated with America. Freedom, he said, is a right that comes with a set of duties, and the responsible citizen should recognize those obligations and pursue them to the fullest extent.

"As blessed as we are, we are an unfinished nation," he said. "We must take our place in the enterprise of renewal, giving it our time, our counsel, our labor, and our passion to the enduring test that will make our nation and this world a better place."

It is the freedom and liberty that the American people enjoy that has spurred them to make this nation great, he said, and these ideals should carry over into America's interaction with the world. "As long as people are free to act in their own interest and will perceive their interest in an enlightened way … we will be a civilization for the ages, in which we all share in the promise and responsibility of freedom," said McCain.

"We must represent to the world, even in perilous times, when we confront enemies who share none of our values, scorn the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that are noble to our history. We must always show the world that those values are dearer to us than anything - dearer even than life itself," he said, alluding to the current U.S. involvement in the war on terror.

A prisoner of war in Vietnam for six years, McCain has recently claimed the media spotlight for his objection to President George W. Bush's call for reassessment of the standards set forth in the Geneva Convention. An international set of guidelines for the humane treatment and interrogation of detainees, the convention remains one of the most important ways by which the United States manifests "moral leadership," said McCain. In the Senate, he has recently voiced the potential consequences that Bush's proposal may have on captured Americans - if the United States fails to uphold the Geneva Convention, the rest of the world will feel less obligated to do so as well.

McCain told the BC community that the issue was not only a question of assuring the well-being of American prisoners of war, but a point of moral dilemma. "We need not and must not sacrifice our values in this war on terrorism," he said. "We cannot win if we do, and we will lose something far more precious - our political soul.

"Even though captured al-Qaida members would never ever afford us any protection of our rights … we must adhere to in our treatment of them by our standards of values, not theirs. The way we treat them is not about them, it's about us." The consistency of values internalized and embodied by the nation must be evident in dealing even with the most "evil" of people, he said.

"No other country can claim such moral leadership and we must never, never sacrifice that," said McCain. "There is no honor or happiness in just being strong enough to be left alone."

In addition to striving to deliver such morality abroad, McCain cited several domestic avenues by which Americans can put this leadership to the test. Broken social security, liability in Medicare, and a decline in faith in government, he said, are among the top concerns facing the collegiate generation.

"If we don't fix Social Security, no student tonight will have the same entitlements as current retirees have," he said. "That's not an acceptable situation. Medicare also has a $40 trillion liability associated with it. That system cannot be sustained unless we repair it. And the approval rating of Congress is in 20s - that's not healthy for democracy - for any Americans to have that low of confidence in one of their most important institutions." It is incumbent on today's youth, he said, to take charge of alleviating these dilemmas.

"We are not a perfect country," said McCain. "Prosperity and power might delude us into thinking that we have achieved that distinction. But inequities and challenges unforeseen a mere generation ago command every citizen's concern and labor. But what we have achieved in our great history is irrefutable proof that a nation conceived in liberty will prove stronger and more enduring than any nation ordered to exalt the few at the expense of the many."

While McCain acknowledged that intrinsic in the freedoms of America is the freedom not to participate in activities that benefit others, he urged students to stay away from this self-indulgent lifestyle.

"What a poor destiny it is that claims no higher cause than wealth or fame," he said. "If those who claim their liberty but not their duty to the civilization that ensures it, … they will possess nothing of importance because their lives have no greater object than themselves."

Drawing from his own personal experience with dependence on others and the reciprocity that makes society function, McCain said his experiences in Vietnam helped shape his philosophy. "The most valuable experience in my life was my time spent in prison," he said. "It taught me I couldn't rely on myself alone - that I was dependent on others to literally save my life - and it taught me the value and need of friends and comrades that at the end of the day make you stronger and a better person."

As young citizens of the United States about to embark on their college experiences, McCain urged students to be true to themselves, to realize when they have made mistakes, and to make amends when necessary. "I have done things that I knew were not correct, and I have paid a very heavy price for it," he said.

By seeking rectification in serving a cause higher than oneself, McCain said students can uphold the values instilled in them during their years at BC. "I think [BC] has an excellent program, and I would encourage everyone exposed to it to maximize their efforts," he said. "I think they will find at the end of the four years that their lives have been enriched by these programs."

Before his address, the freshman class gathered for the First Flight through campus, a ceremonial book-end walk to be taken at the beginning and end of their BC careers. Organized by the Office of First Year Experience (FYE), past convocation speakers have included Paul Farmer, Tracy Kidder, and Barack Obama.

"The purpose is to offer you, the BC class of 2010, both inspiration and challenge," said University President William P. Leahy, S.J., at the opening of the event. "I ask you to remember that you bring significant talent with you, and we need you to contribute to campus life."

Rev. Joseph Marchese, director of FYE, also told freshmen to take hold of the years ahead of them and make the most of them. "The task is before us - take the leap," he said. "Learn to be reflective, attentive, and loving so when you walk at graduation you will be wise men and women ready to serve the world."

McCain echoed this notion of service beyond oneself in his address. "Nothing is more liberating in life than to fight for a cause that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone," he said. "And that has made all the difference, my friends, all the difference in the world."