Then I Was…

Hey all! Welcome back to the blog! Brennan has got a jump on me, so I’m playing catch-up, but I’ve got some ideas brewing that will get back in the running.

As usual, I’ve not read the book Brennan is referencing. They always sound like such good books, and I often add them to my “to be read” list, but I haven’t got to “First Principles” yet. 

Fortunately, a lot of what Brennan is talking about I’ve read about in other places. There must be some advantage to having been on the planet longer, right?

Take for instance, the fact that the founding fathers all benefited from a classical education – studying Greek and Roman culture. I’ve not read a lot about the Fab 4 Founding Fathers, but I did know that British men raised in the late 18^th century were expected to study Greek, Latin, mathematics, and philosophy, and since they all were British subjects when they received the bulk of their education, they followed that mold.

Where did I learn about the education of 18^th century men? Amazingly, in historical romances and mysteries where the leading men are invariably “lords” – dukes, earls, and such. A classical education was a must – for men only of course – and if you were important or wealthy enough you also went on a Grand Tour – ostensibly to study culture, art, architecture and the wonders of Europe – or, in reality, to drink and “sow your wild oats”.

But I digress. Virtue, even when I was a girl (not quite ancient times) was often used in the context of “protecting a girl’s virtue”. This meant, practically, her virginity (chastity), but I’m sure there was some temperance, patience, and kindness thrown in for good measure. Young women have always been expected to be the level-headed, voice of reason when men are losing control around them. The one who is supposed to take the higher ground and say – not until we’re married.

A lot of societal beliefs come directly from the church and reference the Seven Deadly Sins and Heavenly Virtues that Brennan mentioned. In the 19^th and 20^th century most children attended church and got an earful about virtue, behavior, and sin.

If you look up virtue on Merriam-Webster it says – a moral excellence. This is what I think the Founders meant when they said virtue was a “lynchpin” of public life.

Why have concepts like virtue, honor, and loyalty given way in modern society to immorality, corruption, and faithlessness? I think Brennan is onto something when he says, “everywhere you turn is another advertisement appealing to vice rather than virtue.”

American society no longer rewards kindness and loyalty. Increasingly, the message put out for consumption is, I got mine and that’s all that matters. Acts of kindness still make it onto social media but almost as a novelty.

When politicians – all the way up to the president – are more concerned about their personal wealth – as attained ripping off honest employees, engaging in insider trading, taking kickbacks and accepting “perks” from lobbyists – what message is an everyday American receiving? 

Pitting people against each other always in the name of having more money is making us miserable. When social media has managed to convince 1 in 6 people that they could be a billionaire one day, even though there are currently only 801 people to reach that status, something is very skewed in the message going out.

“Greed is good?” You bet! Got caught assaulting women, associating with child traffickers or welching on your bills – no worries – grease the right palms and you can still be rich and hold the highest office in the land. That’s the message every kid in America is getting right now. It’s kind of scary.

As far as music goes, I enjoyed the Bob Dylan biopic. He was a touchstone for his generation along with many other singer/songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s. I wasn’t old enough to experience much of the protest music firsthand, but I heard and sang them as a teenager. Songs protesting war and senseless death, songs praising love and togetherness and world peace. It was a different time for sure.

There are musicians today writing protest songs. There will always be something worth protesting in the world. But the 60’s were different because so many people wrote protest songs they contributed to the evolution of music and spawned an entire genre. 

I don’t mean that no one is currently putting out good music, that certainly is not the case. There are meaningful songs being recorded every year but, as Brennan mentioned, there’s also infighting which society revels in, lyrics which degrade women or are written to shock and demean, and only the megastars make enough money to support themselves.

Which leads us to sports. Sports have changed a lot over the years. The explosion of new sports channels on a variety of streaming channels creates an endless loop of games and matches to watch. There are so many things to bet on. It’s so easy, right? Betting site advertisements assure you that it’s the easiest thing in the world. And that’s coupled, again, with the message that money is the be all end all, and the greed of companies like Draft Kings and FanDuel whose only apparent nod to the destruction they’re abetting is the 1-800 number for Gamblers’ Anonymous at the bottom of the screen. “Greed is good” wins again.

On good days there are glimmers of hope for society. When an organization who values nature over money wins a court case to stop the destruction of old growth forest, the obliteration of endangered species or drilling in the pristine reaches of the Arctic, I think to myself – there are people out there fighting for the world and the good in it. 

There are many people who volunteer, who donate, who mentor, and who drop everything in their lives to go help out after a hurricane or tornado, or to fight a fire. They’re out there, but you have to look for their stories. 

There are people in public office fighting for everyday Americans, too, but their honest efforts are being lost in the chaos and noise of the 24 hour news cycle shouting lies and misinformation to get people riled up – even if it adds to the viciousness, the meanness and the total disregard for others that we see in every realm of society.

It’s frustrating and discouraging to see evil men (and women) get ahead in the world at the expense of so many others who are trying to be decent people and live their lives. I continue to hope that the pendulum will swing back and all those traits we once valued – honesty, virtue, kindness, integrity – will be back in vogue.

Here’s hoping that day comes soon.

A couple of years ago, I stumbled across a book titled “First Principles” by Thomas E. Ricks. The book is all about how the Founding Fathers of America, namely George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, all received their specific individual education that prepared them to be influential characters in a revolution for liberalism and democracy. Generally speaking, they were all educated in the Classics, that is, in works by Greek and Roman figures. For example, James Madison idolized Cicero.  Little background about Cicero, he’s a renowned Roman statesman that wrote many essays that influenced politicians throughout world history, including our Constitutional author, James Madison. Madison’s understanding of Cicero was crucial to his contributions in the American Constitution, which so far has done pretty well for itself as a living document.

There is plenty of content within the book around the different political, economic, societal ideas of the Greeks and Roman societies, but the idea that has stuck with me most is the idea of virtue, a word we all have heard, but might not have the best definition of. Don’t fret, Mr. Ricks does a superior job painting the picture of virtue during the Revolutionary era than I ever could in the following passage:

“…for the Revolutionary generation, virtue was the essential element of public life. Back then, it was actually masculine. It meant putting the common good before one’s own interests. Virtue was the ‘lynchpin’ of public life – that is the fastener that held together the structure (of the societal structure).”

When I read about it, I was intrigued by the “how.” Like how did George Washington wake up each day and decide to practice virtue and then actually practice it? How can I, as a 27-year-old in the same country as the Revolutionary men who wrote the Constitution, wake up each day and practice virtue in my own life?

To solve the issue, I decided I first needed to define what virtue is. I think the definition has shifted over the course of time, so it’s a bit of a moving target. But I think the most prevalent amongst my peers, and the way of thinking about virtue that makes the most sense to me, is to define the dichotomy of virtue/vice mentioned in the Christian church – the idea of the 7 Heavenly Virtues and 7 Deadly Sins:

• Humility vs. Pride
• Charity vs. Greed
• Chastity vs. Lust
• Temperance vs. Gluttony
• Patience vs. Wrath
• Kindness vs. Envy
• Diligence vs. Sloth

Pretty much what the Christian church did here is identify 7 human characteristics that are bad, the 7 Deadly Sins, and then came up with the antithesis of each of them, the 7 Heavenly Virtues. The Virtues are admirable traits that should be sought after, whereas the 7 Sins are no bueno, don’t do these things. If you are a virtuous person, you do more of the 7 good ones than the 7 bad ones.

Today, I am taking a stab at this topic because of the current state of America from my perspective of vice and virtue being simply put, hella vicious. I see entities ranging across the spectrum of American popular society representing more vice than virtue at the current juncture, which is detrimental to the well-being of the average American and society as a whole. For a democratic, liberal society such as ours in America to function properly, there should be motivation to pursue being virtuous as opposed to being vicious, but everywhere you turn is another advertisement appealing to vice rather than virtue. Let’s take a look at a few examples across some of the most tangible parts of American life, politics, sports, and music to elaborate.

In the political spectrum we have our new president himself Donald Trump representing the vices of lust, greed, and probably every other vice in some way. Criminal charges for Sexual deviance, withholding pay from workers, and conspiracy charges just to name a couple, yet he still prevailed in the presidential race. It’s like people don’t care if the individual they vote for is a decent, moral person. Electing individuals with criminal records to the highest forms of office sends a message to all Americans that it is somehow okay to have heinous acts under your belt and still be a winner in society. I don’t think that’s very bueno for the trajectory of our country. If, instead we had a virtuous leader that did not have this history of immoral behavior, our young people would be positively influenced to be good citizens of not only America, but of the world. Say what you will about Obama’s politics, but it was a nice touch for him to not be in the process of hundreds of criminal cases at all during his political career.

In the sports industry, we have sports betting companies like DraftKings and FanDuel representing the vice of greed. These companies are plaguing viewers with attractive opportunities to gamble away their hard-earned money. Amongst my friends, we never watch a game without gambling becoming the center of the conversation. I won’t claim to be holier than this, I’m known for putting $20 bucks on a game here and there, but that doesn’t mean that I think it’s a good influence on our society, especially on young people. Sports gambling is pervasive, with commercials and even expert analysts providing their bets to viewers for each game, enticing young men (mostly) to gamble away their money. My step-brother is 16, and he already has a strong desire to place bets on each and every game we watch together. I can only imagine how sports gambling will impact him and his friends as they come of legal age and are able to start betting on their own. These companies have taken the community-building event of sports and found a way to spread negativity to American people to make a dollar for the shareholder. I’d give a lot to be able to watch an NFL game next season without the commentators talking about the bets that they’d made pregame.

To the music industry, which in an ideal world represents a unity of artists that provide beautiful art and messages of good to the world, we see wrath and pride represented. I recently watched the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, and was moved by the protest songs that Dylan wrote in the 60s. A series of songs that have deeper meanings to unite people in the protests that were ongoing during that tumultuous period of American history. They experienced music as a unifying medium of art during that time. Instead, in the current state of society, our most popular songs celebrate violence, divisiveness, or sex. We experience artists like Drake and Kendrick Lamar at each other’s necks calling each other pedophiles and domestic abusers amongst other things for all to hear. I don’t think that it requires anyone to mention it, but I haven’t heard anyone talking about it so here goes. It’s a bit difficult to imagine music bringing people together when the best song of the year’s most popular line is denouncing a fellow musician as a pedophile. 

To put it plainly, in today’s America we are missing a key piece to the puzzle of making a society great. We need to have influence from the public sphere, whether it is in politics, sports, music, or whatever, to pursue virtue and to spread positivity and kindness. But it seems to me that the pursuit of virtue is currently at a standstill, and as a society, we need some leaders to step up and be okay with not making millions of dollars in order to preserve their own virtuosity. I think it’d be worth it.