Sacrifice is the moral core of leadership. A true leader demonstrates commitment to a cause, and in turn demands commitment from others, by sharing in the rigors, burdens and hardships of the tasks at hand. Too many politicians today follow the path of least risk to themselves; and too many voters rightly see their self-promotion as an absence of commitment.
Americans are not the weak, selfish, divided and cynical lot they have been taken to be by the political class. Only when persons of principle step forward and treat public service as a higher calling will we rebuild a political tradition of true leadership sustained by genuine popular support for the government. Until that day, we shall all be feeling America’s pain.