Proof.

Kurt's focus on The Philosopher of Phoenix' framing of freedom ...

America still has what we've lost: the reflex to build rather than administer. The founder is a hero there, not a suspect. Success is proof there, not a sin to atone for. That's your treasure. And a treasure is lost without anyone noticing—a form, an agency, a "good cause" at a time.

So don't look for hidden enemies. It's useless and unworthy of you. Look at the figure instead.

Kurt said it decades ago: "Aside from mayonnaise, the French are good for very little."

Maybe they get a pass on sculpture, as well.

Loyal.

Thank you, Execupundit.

Sign.

Trumbull, Signing the Declaration of Independence, 1818

An Independence Day classic from Mr. Wade ...

The document is on the table. Although some of your colleagues are making jokes, each one knows that the signature places the signer's head in a hangman's noose. To sign means you will be regarded as a traitor by the nation that has held your loyalty since birth. Your livelihood may be destroyed and your family doomed to a life of isolation and poverty. Many of your friends and associates will be under suspicion. Others will shun you. Your side, which has feeble and poorly-trained forces, will be fighting the greatest military power in the world. Despite all of the grand talk, the odds of success are small. Even if your side is successful, your new nation will be vulnerable to internal disputes and attacks from predatory powers. This theory of self-government, however attractive, might not work. It's your turn. Will you sign? 

Without.

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.

Marcus Aurelius

Limit.

Mr. Wade reminds ...

Never forget.  The American revolutionaries may have been the only ones in the history of the world who sought to limit their own power.

That, in itself, justified their renown.

Recognition.

"In recognition of these stressful times."

Leonardo.

I highly recommend (have your journal handy) the latest documentary by Ken Burns, Leonardo da Vinci ...

Among the highlights is the presence of two historians mirroring the role of The Civil War's Shelby Foote, historians Paolo Galluzzi and Martin Kemp, who figured prominently in NOVA's 2003 masterpiece, Leonardo's Dream Machines ...

I'm grateful to Execupundit for signaling it's approach.

Quietly.

Starkey, Snow Day, 2015

Suppose we did our work

like the snow,

quietly, quietly,

leaving nothing out.

Wendell Berry

Thanks to Execupundit for the thought.

Systematic.

I've taught in a fifth- and sixth-grade school in which nearly 650 kids attended.  The building was in the middle of the community's most densely-populated neighborhoods.  Each day the car line for pick-ups and drop-offs wound around our parking lot and out of sight for blocks. 

The bike rack never contained more than three bikes (I knew all three kids and am proud to say they were the most interesting, independent, and inspirational kids in the building; gloriously-crooked trees, every one.)

Execupundit looks at the systematic endangering of a species ...

I used to ride my bike to school, two miles along a narrow, and busy country road. In any case, even if the weather was bad, I was going to take the bus. If my mom had to take me in the car, we were going to the doctor, because I must have been sick if I needed that kind of pampering. But today many schools don’t use buses, because parents pick up and drop off their children, denying them any sense of personal efficacy for arranging transportation. Admittedly, finding the correct bus and boarding it before it leaves is not difficult, but that is still too much for many parents, who park and look for their children so the kiddos are not inconvenienced.

And there is the connection: parents want their children to be home, and safe. Not out riding their bikes, playing basketball or football in the street, not heading over to the reservoir to swim. (Here, Haidt is clearly in league with such critics as Lenore Skenazy and others). We want the precious little tykes to be safe in their rooms. And, as if by a miracle, we are provided with a magic food bag, or rather experience bag, to attach to the children so they are happy to stay in their room rather than ….well, rather than doing pretty much anything. The magic experience bag that comes with a smart phone provides an intensity, variety, and duration of exciting experiences that were impossible for anyone to access 100 years ago, and probably even 30 years ago.

We have made a deal with the Devil, in other words. To keep our kids home, we have made them frightened of the world. To keep our kids from harm, we have exposed them to brain-altering habits, online predators, and addictive pastimes that don’t just have the risk, but the near certainty, of making those now children turn out to be anxious and dysfunctional adults. 

Health.

Execupundit examines signs of societal health.

I would add that there be spaces for the public display and performance of art, music, and literature.

Healthy.

Mr. Wade lists the elements of a healthy temperament ...

• Courage and Kindness
• Patience and Urgency
• Range and Focus
• Feeling and Detachment
• Curiosity and Indifference
• Thought and Action

Great list.  

I would add listening and speaking out.

Spark.

Execupundit has an excellent list of movies meant to spark discussions (I love that) about leadership.  

I'd suggest three more ...

1. Big Night
2. Miracle
3. Hostiles

Enjoyable.

My students would call Michael Wade "Big Brain" ...

Life becomes much more enjoyable if you don't believe in or fall prey to moods. 

Choose to be in a good mood.  

More of this in the echo chamber, please.

Changer.

 Execupundit on relationships ...

Here's a rule of life: you have to be there. You have to listen and laugh and argue and comfort the people around you in a multitude of exchanges where life's mystery means you may not know just which exchange was the most important.

I can recall off-hand conversations from long ago that seriously affected my life and even my world view.

You never know, but that raised eyebrow, that quiet reassurance, that brief pat on the back may be another person's life changer.

Don't hide away. Get out among 'em.

There is a student in our school, Clementine, who stops by my classroom every single morning for a brief chat before heading upstairs to her homeroom.  We aren't in any classes together, but in the past I've had her siblings, Ruby, Olive, and Violet (no joke).  Clementine makes my day with her smiles, her corny jokes, and the fact that she usually brings a friend in tow, a student that, most likely, I'd never have gotten the chance to meet.  Some of Clementine's friends have begun Clementine's routine on their own, so now I'm meeting drama club kids, skater kids, kids who cook, new kids who don't speak a word of English, kids whose siblings are classroom legacies, kids who teach me dances, handshakes, and suggest good books I should read.

This year, walking the hallways is quite a different experience.  Kids rule!

(Oh! I've been told by these kids that saying "Good morning" to students I don't know is creepy and they won't respond [this happens].  Instead, they've taught me to say, "'Sup" [it works].  We often discuss what I call "reading the room"; they call it "matching energy." We're both learning.)

Thanks to Clementine and Mr. Wade.

Finds.

Execupundit reminds us ...

Lethargy often finds paths that diligence and hard work overlook.

As a sixth grade teacher, I see this innovative approach successfully at work each and every day.

Comprehend.

This is hard for us to comprehend, but we must if we are to grasp what the concept of the enemy means.

Thank you, Mr. Wade.

Beware.

Beware of when deceit is called diplomacy, weakness is called kindness, cruelty is called candor, strength is called provocation, passivity is called contemplation, and surrender is called acceptance.

Thank you, Mr. Wade.

Sign.

Trumbull, Signing the Declaration of Independence, 1818

An Independence Day classic from Mr. Wade ...

The document is on the table. Although some of your colleagues are making jokes, each one knows that the signature places the signer's head in a hangman's noose. To sign means you will be regarded as a traitor by the nation that has held your loyalty since birth. Your livelihood may be destroyed and your family doomed to a life of isolation and poverty. Many of your friends and associates will be under suspicion. Others will shun you. Your side, which has feeble and poorly-trained forces, will be fighting the greatest military power in the world. Despite all of the grand talk, the odds of success are small. Even if your side is successful, your new nation will be vulnerable to internal disputes and attacks from predatory powers. This theory of self-government, however attractive, might not work. It's your turn. Will you sign? 

 Thanks, Execupundit.

Two.

Execupundit asks, what two Christmas music CDs we would choose if we could only choose two?

Mine ...

Thanks, Kurt.

Well-lived.

Firchau, With Meg, Christmas Eve, 2020

A lazy person would talk to dogs, and other precepts of a life well-lived, at Execupundit.