This Is Why We Do Our Part

Being virtuous, like voting, is within our power. Whether it visibly changes the world is not. But we act because it is our duty, and that alone is reason enough. Register to vote at https://vote.gov✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints to remember these lessons at the Daily Stoic Store: https://store.dailystoic.com/📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom in everyday life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us, dailystoic.com.

• 0:30Ryan Holiday?

  This is why we do our part. Why bother? Doesn't matter, won't count. This is what people say when it comes to voting, especially in America. And they're not totally wrong. It's hard to argue with the statistics and the realities. One person out of so many, when more than 50% of the population doesn't even bother? In a country of gerrymandering and voter suppression? On the other hand, it's stunning to think that in an election, the 2020 election, that saw something like 150 million votes, the presidency, the most powerful and influential position in the world, was decided by roughly 44,000 ballots across three states.

• 1:15Ryan Holiday?

  Less than half of a college football stadium, Arizona was swung by just 10,000 voters. But actually, the Stoics would say that none of these stats matter either way. Whether your vote is the one that makes a difference isn't why one should engage in the democratic process. First, the Stoics are quite clear that a philosopher has a duty to contribute to the well-being of the polis, including active political participation, which they saw as a clear distinction from the Epicureans. But more important is the idea that you should only do something if the preferred outcome is guaranteed. Well, that just violates everything we talk about here. As Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations, "You must build up your life action by action

• 2:00Ryan Holiday?

  and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible." And no one can keep you from this. The act of casting a vote is within your control. The outcome of the election is not. But that doesn't absolve you of the responsibility to participate. Consider how flawed the logic of non-voting becomes when applied more broadly. Most individual acts of goodness, whether it's doing the right thing, telling the truth, when a lie would be easier, being a good parent, or taking pride in your work. These things make little visible difference on their own. But does that justify lying, cheating, neglecting your duties, or being careless? Of course not. Imagine the kind of world we would have if everyone embraced that mindset.

• 2:45Ryan Holiday?

  A better world is built action by action, vote by vote, even if the vast majority of those votes and actions are thwarted. Being virtuous, like voting, is within our power. Whether it visibly changes the world is not, but we act because it is our duty, and that alone is reason and motivation enough. The same thing applies to voting in this election, in the next election, in every election. You make your small contribution to the common good, because even if it doesn't reshape society, it shapes you. That's the story of the boy and the starfish that I tell in Right Thing Right Now. It matters to the starfish. And what if the choice, what if the candidates feel like picking the lesser of two evils?

• 3:30Ryan Holiday?

  Marcus Aurelius reminds us not to expect Plato's Republic. This is the real world. Who you vote for is your decision. Let the Stoic values of justice and fairness and interconnectedness guide your choice. And I think you know what that means. If you're Heming and Hong, you know what the principled choice is here. You know who disgusts you. You know who you would never put in charge, not even of your kid's college savings, or, you know, you wouldn't even want them coaching your kid's soccer team. You wouldn't want your daughter to work for them. You know they shouldn't be in charge of nuclear weapons.

• 4:13Ryan Holiday?

  We have a great video on sort of Stoic principles applied to the different choices and candidates. I'll link to that. Again, I'm not pushing you either way. I just want to give you some things to think about. And I'll link to that in today's show notes. But the important thing is you get out there. I I voted today. I'm recording this on the 21st, I guess, of October. I voted today, the first day of early voting here in Texas. Texas gets a lot of voting stuff screwed up. They believe in a bunch of nonsense and conspiracy theories. They generally try to make it hard for people to vote. You can't get an absentee ballot unless you've got some ridiculous sets of circumstances. But they do get early voting, right? My wife and I went and waited in line about 40 minutes.

• 4:56Ryan Holiday?

  The county courthouse and we were proud to do it and gave the stickers to my kid after. I did my part. You got to do your part. Hopefully, we squeak this thing out. And by we, I just mean people who believe that virtue is important, who believe that virtue is important and not just raw power and grievance and punishing your enemies and keeping themselves out of prison. Be well, go vote.