What goes through my head daily is my experience in the military. The vast majority of Air Force pilots I worked with were Republicans. I flew with a… - Adam Kinzinger

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What goes through my head daily is my experience in the military. The vast majority of Air Force pilots I worked with were Republicans. I flew with a few Democrats and in our off hours we'd talk politics and argue. But at that moment in time, we were all on that mission together. It wasn't, Is Obama going to get elected or is it John McCain? It was the mission of the country that mattered. In Congress, I know that you should keep your partisan lines to some extent. That's what the people who elected you want. But you also have to be willing to work on things together. The tone you take is what really makes a difference. And in a crisis, I can fall back on my pilot training. We were taught that no matter the emergency, just stop, take a breath, analyze the situation. More specifically, we're told, "Maintain aircraft control, analyze the situation, take appropriate action, and land as soon as conditions permit." The same is true with anything in life. Maintain control. Keep your emotions in check.

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About Adam Kinzinger

Adam Daniel Kinzinger (born February 27, 1978) is an American former politician and senior political commentator for CNN. He served as a United States representative from Illinois from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Kinzinger originally represented Illinois's 11th congressional district and later Illinois's 16th congressional district. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.

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Birth Name: Adam Daniel Kinzinger
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Additional quotes by Adam Kinzinger

Most of us went into the military because we wanted to be a part of a mission that is greater than ourselves. That's why I think you see so many honorable people coming out of the military. For the most part, for the vast majority of veterans, you get treated fairly in the military. When you take into account all the benefits you receive, you're being paid fairly. That should continue after you're done serving. This country needs to quit writing all these checks to veterans and start encouraging them to make the best of their life ahead. That's another mission I have in Congress: to give veterans purpose.

At the beginning of 2020, I was thinking that this was the best time to be alive. Yet everybody seems more miserable than they've ever been. I was also thinking that maybe we needed another 9/11-type event to wake us all up. Well, maybe this pandemic is a 9/11 moment, and we aren't waking up. People are becoming even more partisan. The virus itself is partisan. The reaction to what we should do with China is partisan. I don't believe we should use China as a political weapon.
The contempt I often see among the American people, quite honestly, fueled me to stay in this job longer. After ten years, you always evaluate. I do it every time I run. Am I the right guy at the right time? This thing has fueled me. My desire isn't to go out there and whack the Democrats on it. They'll whack us and we'll whack them, but nothing will change. I want to inspire people again. I want them to look at the contempt in their heart. It comes from fear. Don't be afraid. Fear leads to conflict. Conflict leads to destroyed societies.

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I know what it is like to come out if active duty service. All of a sudden, you're spit out into civilian life. It's hard. I went through it. Even though I ran for Congress immediately and had a goal in mind, I still struggled. For the first four years in Congress I thought about resigning and going back into the Air Force full time. It was great to be elected, but the proudest days of my life were when I earned my wings and when I became a lieutenant colonel. Nothing really compares with the sense of accomplishment you get from serving your country. That doesn't mean you can't find another mission to take on. If that means going back to working on a farm like my granddad did, then do that fiercely. If it means doing some other kind of work then do that.

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