What does it look like when one man decides that rolling over is not an option? When instead of sitting out the fight, he stands up—for 25 hours straight?
Let me paint the picture.
Senator Cory Booker, hoarse but unshaken, stood on the Senate floor and made history. Not just by breaking Strom Thurmond’s record—because let’s be honest, Thurmond fought against civil rights. Booker stood in spite of him.
He spoke with fire and fasting, quoting John Lewis, calling on us to “get in good trouble.” He did what so many of us dream of doing in moments of despair: he showed up with courage and conviction and refused to sit down.
“This is a moral moment. It’s not left or right. It’s right or wrong,” he said. And if that doesn't feel like a TED Conferences Talk for the soul, I don’t know what does.
He wasn’t just protesting policy—he was defending democracy in a courtroom where the judge is all of us. He called out plans to gut Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He grieved the loss of dignity as thousands of public servants were fired via broken badge readers. He named the absurdity, the cruelty, and the stakes.
“Please, God, don’t let them take Medicaid away from 10, 20, 30, or 40 million Americans,” he pleaded. And in the background, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had just laid off workers administering Meals on Wheels and disability services. Entire federal divisions—just... gone.
But this post isn’t about despair. It’s a montage moment. A chance to lace up your sneakers, get your Kleenex, refill your water bottle, and say, “Let’s go.”
Because Senator Booker didn’t speak for 25 hours just to break a record. He spoke so we’d get off the sidelines and lead. So we’d bury apathy once and for all.
Let this be the eulogy:
“Here lies Apathy. It died when people remembered their power.”
So what are you willing to stand for? What issue makes you feel like you can’t sit down until something changes? What’s your version of a 25-hour stand?
This isn’t just about Booker. It’s about all of us.
Blog