By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The path to the U.S. Senate for Robert Menendez started at the American Legion Jersey Boys State, and it can also be the beginning of the road to the White House, the U.S. Senate and even the U.S. Supreme Court.
That’s what Sen. Menendez told nearly 1,000 "statesmen" — as the participants in the annual American Legion Jersey Boys State program are known — as they prepared to graduate from the week-long program Friday afternoon.
"(American Legion Jersey Boys State) is a ‘hands-on’ civics lesson. It is a lifetime experience," Sen. Menendez told the high school juniors and their families at the Boys State final assembly at Rider University’s Alumni Gym.
The program, which has been held in New Jersey annually since 1946 and at Rider University since 1969, teaches the boys about the duties, privileges, rights and responsibilities of American citizenship. The boys run a mythical 51st state, where they create cities, form political parties and elect a mayor and council from among their ranks.
American Legion Jersey Boys State participants also fill county and state governments, municipal courts and even elect two senators who go on to the American Legion Boys Nation later in the summer.
Life for Sen. Menendez began in a Union tenement house, where he lived with his Cuban immigrant parents. He was the first in his family to attend college. He said he never believed he would become a U.S. senator, but for the experiences and exposure he received as a Boys State statesman in 1971.
Sen. Menendez said Boys State offered him an opportunity to understand the importance of knowing the issues, as well as tolerance in the debates in which the statesmen took part. The statesmen also learned about the unique ideals of American democracy.
At a time when so many people are skeptical of government, the Boys State program "holds value," he said. Good, decent government led by good and decent men and women can change the world, "(and) you have the power to change events within you," he told the boys.
Sen. Menendez said he put those lessons to work early in his life, as a 19-year-old who led a petition drive to reform the local school board in his home town. The petition drive was sparked by a requirement that participants, such as he, in the senior honors program needed to pay $200 for books and related material. It presented a hardship for his family.
The petition drive led to change from a school board whose members were appointed by the municipal government, to one in which the members are elected by the voters. He won a seat on the school board when he was 20 years old, starting him on the path from school board member to mayor to the U.S. House of Representatives and to the U.S. Senate.
"It all began here at Boys State. Your journey begins here, as did mine," Sen. Menendez said.
One of the lessons the statesmen should have learned during their week-long stay is that democracy can be messy. It demands tolerance and civility, and it also requires consensus. One must keep in mind that "there are always going to be people who disagree with us, and it is incumbent on us to find a middle ground," he said.
This week, the statesmen learned about leadership skills, Sen. Menendez said. They also learned how to debate the issues — from the left, the right and the center, he said, adding that they also learned how difficult it is to reach consensus.
"My advice is to base decisions not on politics, but on common values — what is fair and what is just," Sen. Menendez said. "You have to (make a decision) based on moral strength, not political expedience."
The senator told the boys that their generation will face many challenges, from climate change to ending the dependence on fossil fuels to the reshaping of the Middle East. Some countries will move toward a democratic form of government, and others will not, he said.
And while the statesmen may have come from cities and farms, from the northern part of New Jersey to the southern part of the state, they need to remember what they learned this week — to get involved and not to get discouraged, he said.
"One thing is clear. Our country needs you," Sen. Menendez said.

