My first introduction to Dan Crenshaw was on Saturday Night Live. In case you have forgotten, Pete Davidson made a joke about Crenshaw (who was a candidate for Texas’ 2^nd Congressional district at the time). The joke made fun of (now) Congressman Crenshaw’s physical appearance. Specifically, Crenshaw wears an eye patch due to injuries sustained while serving as a Navy Seal in Afghanistan. Davidson said Crenshaw “looks like the hitman in a porno.” Davidson (and SNL in general) took a lot of heat for making fun of Crenshaw. The following week, Crenshaw appeared on the Weekend Update segment of SNL sitting next to Davidson. The segment was hilarious.  Crenshaw was genuine, heartfelt, and funny. He also displayed outstanding comedic timing in front of a national audience on live television (which I respect immensely being a small-time comic myself). The segment started with Davidson apologizing, and when the apology was over, Crenshaw slid onto the stage right next to Davidson. Crenshaw proceeded to tell a bunch of jokes to “get back” at Davidson, and then he went on to talk about public service and overall decency. He also honored Davidson’s father (who died as a first responder in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 Attacks).  He ended by asking people to replace the expression “thank you for your service” with “never forget.” If you want to see Crenshaw’s appearance on SNL to understand why, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKaakjMVtyE

As a politician, I agree with Congressman Crenshaw on almost nothing. He is a strict, small-government capitalist who does not acknowledge the value or reality of socialistic programs. It might be fairer to say that he recoils at the word “socialism” to the degree that makes him deny realities such as the fact that America is full of socialist programs that nearly all US citizens depend on. This was on display during his conversation with Joe Rogan when Rogan pointed out how many aspects of American society are based on socialist programs. The back and forth between the two was respectful and agreeable, but it also featured a lot of logical “tap dancing” by Crenshaw.

Here is the definition of socialism, according to dictionary.com:

noun

a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

This applies to fire departments, police, parks (national, state, and local), the highway system, and oh, by the way, the Military…and I could go on.

In addition to appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Crenshaw also appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Crenshaw is making these appearances (at least in part) to promote his new book entitled Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage (https://www.amazon.com/Fortitude-American-Resilience-Era-Outrage/dp/1538733307). I should admit that all I know about the contents of the book are what Crenshaw discussed in the interviews that I had previously mentioned.  But the little I do know includes discussions about being dedicated to self-improvement and rejecting the cultural trends of mob mentality, easily fractured psyches, and safe space dependency. On these issues, I could not agree with Crenshaw more.

As I said before, I agree with Crenshaw on extraordinarily little when it comes to politics and policy. While I am also a capitalist, I hate unmonitored capitalism. I also believe that particular needs should be rights (healthcare being the prime example). Having said that, I have tons of respect for him. Not just for his comedic delivery (during his SNL appearance, he said that “Pete Davidson looks like if the meth from Breaking Bad was a person”), and that’s funny. He also talked about the importance of working together as a citizenry, treating one another with respect, and challenging ourselves to become better people and a better country.

Crenshaw has the kind of mentality that I wish was more prevalent in politics today. He’s civil, respectful, passionate, and determined. His amazing resume evidences this. As a Navy Seal, Crenshaw served three combat tours in Afghanistan. During his military service, he earned two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and a Commendation Medal with Valor. After his service, he earned a graduate degree from Harvard. To say that he has an impressive resume would be an understatement of epic proportions.

While he might not agree with the likes of AOC and other progressives on a single policy matter, I would love to see them work together to explore ways to make America a better country. America needs people like them to discuss ideas and try to make America (and the world) a better place. Even if their starting points may be miles apart, their ultimate goals are probably pretty close.