Book excerpt: "Stand" by Cory Booker

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"We are much than a government," writes New Jersey Senator Cory Booker. "We are a nation, a radical bound by shared bedrock virtues."

In his caller book, "Stand" (to beryllium published March 24 by St. Martin's Press), Booker tells america that, astatine a clip erstwhile America is splintered successful galore areas of nationalist life, virtuousness is simply a strategy that tin awaken our consciousness of communal cause.

Read the instauration below, and don't miss Faith Salie's interrogation with Cory Booker connected "CBS Sunday Morning" March 22!

"Stand" by Cory Booker

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Introduction

This publication is astir virtue.

I cognize however that mightiness sound—lofty, abstract, adjacent detached from the crises we face.

Our federation is fractured. In our communities, and adjacent successful our families, tribalism drives america not simply to disagree with but to despise 1 another. Politics has go an obsession with enemies. Demagoguery is ascendant. Authoritarianism threatens our law principles.

Corruption is being normalized. Hope feels scarce. What we are against preoccupies our attention, portion the deeper question of what we are for is near unanswered.

So I tin already perceive idiosyncratic objecting: Dear God, Booker, our state is successful situation and you privation to speech astir ... virtue?

Yes.

Virtue is not a luxury oregon an extremity successful itself. Virtue—the disciplined signifier of our highest ideals—is the strategy done which we arsenic a federation past and prevail.

It is however we fight. It is however we win. It is however we heal.

The 10 virtues I person selected for this book—agency, vulnerability, patriotism, truth, humility, community, creativity, perseverance, grace, and vision—are practices I person wrestled with successful my ain life. Over the adjacent 10 chapters, I research however these virtues were the keys to success, survival, redemption, and renewal successful the lives of individuals and the beingness of our country, and I reason wherefore each is desperately needed successful this moment. From George Washington to Conan O'Brien, from suffragist Alice Paul to disablement rights activistic Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, from Abraham Lincoln to John Lewis, I person looked to the stories of leaders from our past and present, on with lessons I person learned the hard mode successful my ain life, for acquisition successful our clip of situation and challenge.

In this book, I reason that galore Americans who came earlier us, and galore among america today, person consistently proven that virtues are practical: They grow our power, deepen our consciousness of belonging, and equip america to endure and yet prevail. Virtue is simply a strategy that wins elections, moves legislation, and shapes authorities priorities. But, astir importantly, virtuousness is simply a strategy that transcends: awakening our consciousness of communal cause, reigniting our shared convictions, and rekindling the content that our destiny is bound together. In turn, virtuousness makes the applicable enactment of governing efficaciously each the much possible.

In the aboriginal days of the Civil War, erstwhile the endurance of the United States of America itself hung successful the balance, Reverend Samuel F. Colt, a Union service chaplain, captured the essence of the struggle successful a piercing question: "Are we a Nation? Or, Have we a Government?"

His question was definitional: Who are we? What bash we judge in? What bash we basal for? What binds america unneurotic beyond laws, policies, oregon our government's transportation of services?

Our founders, imperfect geniuses arsenic they were, sought to make not lone a authorities but a federation rooted successful virtue. They studied and drew from Enlightenment philosophers and debated past and quality nature. They knew that the authorities unsocial could not hindrance us; lone shared values, rooted successful the champion of humanity could. Those ideals inspired what was written into the Constitution, and the precise thought that our Constitution indispensable beryllium amended and our federation improved by aboriginal generations who could redeem their shortcomings and code their imperfections done corporate conflict and the antiauthoritarian process. They besides knew, and showed us, that virtues are not self-fulfilling oregon inevitable. They necessitate changeless work.

And so, again and again, successful each epoch of our history, Americans person made the deliberate and hard prime to crook toward virtuousness to conscionable their top challenges and to emergence to the telephone of our state to marque ours a much cleanable union.

Now it is our time.

We are much than a government. We are a nation, a radical bound by shared bedrock virtues. These virtues are not irrelevant relics. They are disciplines of endurance and instruments of triumph.

I cognize galore are feeling scared, angry, hurt, and hopeless close now. It is successful times specified arsenic these that we again look a hard choice. There is the inevitable temptation to sacrifice virtuousness for convenience, to speech our highest ideals for the mendacious committedness of expediency. But we can't wantonness our virtues present and anticipation to prime them up later—sacrifice our binding virtues and determination whitethorn beryllium nary aboriginal for our federation astatine all.

I was raised arsenic a kid of the civilian rights generation. From my parents and grandparents and their friends, I heard stories of heroism—ordinary Americans of each backgrounds who became the ft soldiers of a movement. People who defied intolerable likelihood with courage, sacrifice, and struggle. Amidst their trying time, erstwhile radical were drenched successful wounded and anticipation was hard to find, they demonstrated large virtue. For them, virtuousness was a hard but yet rewarding choice. It became an invaluable limb of resilience, a shield against oppression, and a compass that guided them forward.

My parents quoted thing truthful often successful my puerility that it astir mislaid its meaning for me. Now that I americium older, it compels maine and imparts a renewed consciousness of urgency.

It is simply a refrain acquainted to america all: "If you don't basal for something, you volition autumn for anything."

The virtues wrong our past are not brushed sentiments oregon motivation niceties.

When things get difficult, they support america upright.

They are a constellation by which to steer done acheronian times.

In the midst of a storm, our virtues are our defiant, profoundly American insistence connected standing: for ourselves, for 1 another, and for the federation we emotion and share.

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"Stand" by Cory Booker

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