Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Gov. Wes Moore, and Rep. Don Bacon with Rye Barcott: Courage Can Save US

A widening affordability crisis. Conflict abroad and uncertainty at home. Deepening partisan division at every level of government. America faces a set of compounding challenges. Meeting them will require leaders willing to govern across party lines — and citizens willing to demand that they do.

As post-9/11 veterans who carried an ethic of service from the battlefield into elected office, Sherrill, Moore, and Bacon have built records of working across the aisle, often at political cost. What does that work look like in 2026, and what will it take to sustain it?

Courage Can Save US profiles ten elected leaders — five Democrats and five Republicans, nine veterans and a former FBI agent, including Sherrill, Moore, and Bacon — who continue to serve in a system that often punishes the attempt. Drawing on Barcott's work co-founding With Honor, the cross-partisan organization advancing principled veteran leadership in elected office, the book makes the case that courage in public life is not gone, but difficult, necessary, and underappreciated.

Ahead of America’s 250 birthday, hear Barcott moderate a discussion with Sherrill, Moore, and Bacon about this moment in American politics and American history — what it demands, and why service, character and shared purpose have never been more crucial. Hear them talk about what fuels the courage they choose — and how you can summon your own.