Wake Up America, by Eric Bolling

Eric Bolling published Wake Up America: The Nine Virtues That Made Our Nation Great--and Why We Need Them More Than Ever in June of 2016, when Hilary Clinton's victory over Donald Trump in the presidential election was all but assured.  In the opening pages of the book, he speculates about what Hilary's inauguration would look like.  The cast of characters and their policy positions and records, the speculation of what her cabinet would have looked like, the judges she would have appointed, the type of government that she would have overseen, reminds conservative Americans how grateful we are that Trump won in 2016.  

Writing in the months leading up to that election, Bolling sets his sights beyond a single presidential election, but lays out virtues that are crucial and fundamental for government--and life.  Bolling definitely leans right and Republican, as the virtues (which I've listed below with his descriptions) are sure to indicate.  No matter the party, the office, the politician, these virtues are worthy of emulation and can set a standard to aim for.  Whether the current president holds these virtues or not is open to debate (a debate that will certainly expose partisan rifts!), but there's little question that, all things considered, conservatives exhibit these virtues to a greater degree than liberals.  Politicians, as well as the everyday man on the street, can become better citizens and better people by reflecting on these virtues in their own lives.

Grit: "the power to try, fail, and rebuild in a nation of endless possibilities"

Profit: "a system that rewards people for ingenuity, greed, and competition against others"

Manliness: "the rugged pioneer spirit that allowed men and women with guts and guns to carve a great nation out of the wilderness"

Thrift: "the classic middle American value of living within your means and avoiding debt"

Individuality: "the ability to think and speak and believe whatever you like"

Dominion: "the notion that nature is under the control of humanity and not the other way around"

Merit: "the idea that people should succeed based on their own skills and talents, not due to the entitlements from a nanny state and that effort and good choices should be rewarded"

Pride: "love of country and an abiding belief in America's special place among the nations of the world"

Providence: "the belief in a role for faith in our own lives and in the life of our nation, from a simple ball game to America's destiny, because there are things bigger than self or state"