Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) said on Wednesday at the Republican National Committee’s 2020 convention, “America greatness will not be rejected or squandered” and called on Americans to be the heroes who preserve the nation and its founding principles.
Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal who lost his sight in one eye while serving in Afghanistan, recalled the heroes he knew on the battlefield who paid the ultimate price to protect Americans’ freedom, but added, “America’s heroism is not relegated to the battlefield.”
“Here’s the truth about America: we are a country of heroes,” Crenshaw said. “I believe that. So should you.
Crenshaw went on to give examples of the every-day heroes, including nurses and parents who face extraordinary challenges in the coronavirus era and cops who protect Americans every day.
“This is what heroism looks like,” Crenshaw said. “It’s who we are – a nation of heroes, and we need you now more than ever. We need to remind ourselves what heroism really is.”
“Heroism is self-sacrifice. It’s not moralizing and lecturing over others when they disagree,” Crenshaw said. “Heroism is grace, not perpetual outrage.”
“Heroism is rebuilding our communities, not destroying them,” Crenshaw said. “Heroism is renewing faith in the symbols that unite us, not tearing them down.”
“We can decide right now that American greatness will not be rejected nor squandered,” Crenshaw said. “As the American founding was grounded in individual liberty, so will be our future.”
“But if we are to rediscover our strength, then it must be an endeavor undertaken by each and every one of us,” Crenshaw said. “We must become the heroes that we so admire.”
Crenshaw also praised President Donald Trump for his foreign policy accomplishments.
“The defeat of ISIS was the result of America believing in our heroes, our president having their backs, and rebuilding our military so we’d have what we needed to finish the mission,” Crenshaw said. “The cowering of the Iranian regime and the restoration of the deterrence once lost is the result of America believing in her own might again.”
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter