For once, Donald Trump is right: John McCain is not a war hero just because he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Over the weekend, Trump told the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, that McCain is “not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

Trump: McCain Not a 'War Hero'

Trump’s remarks were immediately denounced by one and all. The reaction was quick and brutal, but also wrong.

See:Donald Trump not sorry for McCain comments, not dropping out

Let’s be clear: Sen. John McCain was extremely brave and resourceful in captivity. He was repeatedly tortured. He suffered unimaginable pain and deprivation while a prisoner. He lives with that physical and psychic pain every day.

While he was a prisoner, McCain displayed great courage and a noble character, refusing at one point to accept an early release. But he also broke down under the pressure and signed a “confession” that the North Vietnamese used for propaganda purposes.

That doesn’t make him a hero.

It used to be that a war hero had to accomplish something dramatic or noble, like saving his fellow soldiers at great personal risk, or inflicting significant casualties on the enemy at great personal risk. A hero used to be someone who inspired his comrades and instilled fear and envy in the enemy.

But the bar has been lowered. Nowadays a hero can be anyone who puts on a uniform, no matter how they act or what they accomplish. It’s the act of joining the military — not acts of noble heroism — that makes a modern-day hero.

I suppose it’s the patriotic version of the trend that’s been building over the past few decades of making sure everyone feels like a winner. We honor participation instead of accomplishment. Instead of recognizing real feats — like winning a sports championship or mastering a difficult academic subject — we give everyone a medal for showing up.

That’s what we’ve done to John McCain. And we’re doing it to everyone who serves in the military, whether they behave as heroes or not. (Incidentally, we also put celebrities and billionaires on a pedestal, no matter whether they are saintly or slimy.)

Of course we should recognize the sacrifices these men and women in uniform make, but we should reserve words like “hero” for exceptional people who accomplish extraordinary things with great courage.

Perhaps it was less confusing when we believed our military was fighting for a noble cause, as we did in World War II.

But the war McCain fought in Vietnam was not a noble cause. He participated in the greatest aerial bombardment of any country up to that time, but what did he and the other American pilots accomplish? The bombing campaign didn’t win the war; it merely prolonged it.

We’ve fought a few more pointless wars since then. And each time we struggle as a nation to put some meaning into those wars. What do we say to those whom we’ve asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, those who killed and died for a cause that wasn’t worth killing or dying for?

We call them heroes. It helps us forget.