Since 9/11, weve had terrorist attacks in this country. The majority of them have been right-wing extremists and the majority of those have been white supremacist attacks, from a synagogue in Pittsburgh to a church in South Carolina. And these are white supremacist groups that use language as we saw it, as far away as New Zealand use our presidents language almost as if it is a license for these attacks.

Cory Booker

Categorized in : Opinion

If you want extraordinary results you must put in extraordinary effort.

Cory Booker

effort results want

The War on Drugs is a war on people, but particularly it's been a war on low-income people and a war on minorities. We know in the United States of America there is no difference in drug use between black, white and Latinos. But if you're Latino in the United States of America, you're about twice as likely to be arrested for drug use than if you're white. If you're black, you are about four times as likely to be arrested if you're African American than if you are white. This drug war has done so much to destroy, undermine, sabotage families, communities, neighborhoods, cities.

Cory Booker

community war people

2016 is an election like I've never seen before. And I think it reflects the fact that many people have a dissatisfaction with politics as usual. So I think this is a time where both parties should be humble, reach out to each other and try to find ways to build on common ground to serve the concerns, the rightful frustrations of the American people.

Cory Booker

frustration party humble

If Donald Trump governs the way he campaigned, it'll be a disastrous presidency. This is a chance for him to be magnanimous, humble. To work across the aisle. If that's the kind of president we have, that's fine. But if not, I want our DNC chair, I want Democratic senators and Congresspeople, citizens, we need to resist.

Cory Booker

chance president humble

If you want the things people don't have, you have to do the things other people will not do.

Cory Booker

ifs want people

We live in a gender-biased world. I know we have a lot. But I do know that this history we're making, when Hillary Clinton will accept the nomination, I think it's going to go good steps in helping this country heal from its past and grow towards its future that's more inclusive, more accepting and more realizing that every American has value and that discrimination has no place in politics, in the workplace or anywhere at all.

Cory Booker

country past thinking

As you put your sights on your goals — no matter how great and compelling they are — as you look into the distance, don’t forget what is right in front of you today. No matter how great your dreams, no matter how great your destiny, the biggest thing you can do in any day is a small act of kindness.

Cory Booker

distance dream kindness

The message to both parties should be right now that we need to find ways to work together to speak to the American public.

Cory Booker

party working-together together

I love talking about the challenges [Newark, NJ] has because of the way they are always brilliantly disguised as opportunities.. .the biggest global challenge that there is is a challenge of the spirit, a challenge of our vision, a challenge and a test of our ideals, of who we SAY we are GOING TO BE.

Cory Booker

challenges opportunity talking

The more you limit your choices, thereby limiting thought, the more you can simplify your life and focus your energy elsewhere.

Cory Booker

focus limits choices

The change we seek for our nation is not the choice of an individual but must be the calling of a country.

Cory Booker

choices change country

There is too much disagreement for disagreement's sake. In a time of persistent challenges that still call into question our most sacred aspirations as a country, we cannot afford shallow callous divisiveness in our public debate.

Cory Booker

sake challenges country

Life is about where you are right now, and the choices you make.

Cory Booker

where-you-are choices life-is

If you understand the Black Lives Matter movement, there's no central leadership of the movement. This is an organic, grassroots movement all around America.

Cory Booker

black movement america

For an economy built to last we must invest in what will fuel us for generations to come. This is our history - from the Transcontinental Railroad to the Hoover Dam, to the dredging of our ports and building of our most historic bridges - our American ancestors prioritized growth and investment in our nation's infrastructure.

Cory Booker

railroads growth bridges

People who think I'm gay, some part of me thinks it's wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I'm gay, and I say, 'So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I'm straight.'

Cory Booker

gay people thinking

It's about time that we create first class citizenship for every American plain and simple. Every New Jersey-ian. This should not be a popular vote. This is something we should do now.

Cory Booker

popular-vote gay simple

We now know from a Princeton study that Superfund sites are causing higher rates of birth defects. We now know that there's no excusing the lack of moral urgency to do something about this environmental crisis. We see Flint, Michigan, for example, and the attention it's gotten, but what most Americans don't seem to realize is that this lead problem is not confined to just Flint. There are over 3,000 jurisdictions that have twice the lead levels in people's blood than Flint does. We're now seeing more people being exposed to the truth about environmental injustice in our country.

Cory Booker

environmental country people

There is a tremendous amount of corporate villainy going on in the US, where corporations are doing things that they know are causing harm, and they wouldn't do this where their children live or where their children are growing up. Communities often don't have the tools necessary to fight back against grievous harms being caused them. So to give a cause of action for folks who can demonstrate the harm that's being caused, it's critically important that you allow people to have more tools with which to defend themselves and defend their communities.

Cory Booker

growing-up fighting children

Here, we have a country that is making its veterans, people who are struggling with post-traumatic stress, people who are struggling with depression, who often they're only hope is their access to marijuana to treat these illnesses, and here we are criminalizing them for doing what's necessary to stabilize their lives as a result of their service. This is not who we are as a country. We are better than this.

Cory Booker

stress struggle country