Congressman Dan Crenshaw on ‘Fortitude’ and the coronavirus pandemic

Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s story needs no embellishment. In 2012, on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, an improvised explosive device left his right eye destroyed and his left blinded. Only through the careful hand of his surgeons, and what doctors called a miracle, did Crenshaw’s left eye recover partial vision. And yet, he persevered, completing two more deployments. Why?

He tells his story in his new book, “Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage,” which he joined Banter to talk about with us. We discuss the outrage culture plaguing our politics, and what we can do about it. Then, we ask the Congressman about America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the long-term implications it is likely to have.

Originally from the Houston area, Rep. Dan Crenshaw is a 6th generation Texan. In 2006, he graduated from Tufts University, and then joined the Navy SEALs, embarking on five deployments overseas. An IED blast during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, cost him his right eye, but after recovering he deployed two more times, to the Middle East in 2014 and South Korea in 2016. He was medically retired in September of 2016, after serving ten years in the SEAL Teams. Soon after, he completed his Master’s in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In November 2018, he was elected to represent the people of Texas’s Second Congressional District.

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Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage

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