Don’t Make This Mistake (Or Stop Before It’s Too Late)

Why are good people attracted to serving bad people or bad causes? Aristotle taught Alexander the Great. Seneca advised Nero. Da Vinci attached himself to Cesare Borgia. Mattis accepted a cabinet position from Trump. There are, of course, many other examples of academics who were blind to the horrors of the Soviet system or the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, just as everyday there are good people who go to work for less than ethical companies or leaders. But it is sad that there are two prominent Stoics on that list. Seneca knew what Nero was up to. Secretary of Defense Mattis, a wise, patriotic four-star general, is currently serving a man who is almost his polar opposite in every single way, who says and does things he can’t possibly agree with and would never defend. Now in all these instances, there is a good case to be made that if these wise men didn’t serve in these roles, someone else--someone less disciplined and less compassionate--would simply fill their place. Would we have preferred Alexander without Aristotle’s tempering? Would we want someone less strong, less ethical, less driven by duty to take over as Secretary of Defense? That’s a reasonable argument, and we simply cannot know how much either of these individuals struggled with the dilemmas of their position. Still, that’s only an explanation, not an excuse. The writer Paul Johnson defined an intellectual as someone who believed that ideas were more important than people. It was this fallacy, he said, that wrongly encouraged otherwise smart people to rationalize Stalin’s murderous regime or attracted them to personalities like Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro. Sometimes people are too smart, too in their own heads, to see what was obvious to any outsider. Or worse, their brain and their ambition overrode their heart. Because the heart knows. The heart knows that Alexander and Nero and Borgia and Trump are tragically awful. Even if they do, or did, some good in the world. The point of this email is condemn anyone or to get into a partisan argument (reasonable people can disagree about America’s current president), but to serve as a reminder: The good guys end up enabling the bad guys far too often. And unlike the stupid, they can’t claim ignorance and unlike the desperate, they can’t claim they didn’t have a choice. We need to work extra hard to avoid that mistake. If we are already doing it--like if your boss is an abusive wreck of a human, or if your industry makes the world a worse place--then we need to make the hard decision to walk away. Don’t let ideas or ideals get in the way of the real human cost of your work. Don’t be a cautionary tale. It’s not too late. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:06Speaker 00

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good 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 at dailystoic.com. Don't make this mistake, or stop before it's too late. Why are good people attracted to serving bad people or bad causes? Aristotle taught Alexander the Great; Seneca advised Nero; Da Vinci attached himself to Cesare Borgia; Mattis accepted a cabinet position from Trump.

• 0:51Speaker 00

  There are, of course, many other examples of academics who are blind to the horrors of the Soviet system or the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge, just as every day there are good people who go to work for less than ethical companies or leaders. But it is sad that there are two prominent Stoics on that list. Seneca knew what Nero was up to. Secretary of Defense Mattis, a wise, patriotic, four-star general, is currently serving a man who is almost his polar opposite in every single way, who says and does things he can't possibly agree with and would never defend. Now, in all these instances, there is a good case to be made that if these wise men didn't serve in these roles, someone else, someone

• 1:35Speaker 00

  less disciplined, less compassionate, would simply fill their place. Would we have preferred Alexander without Aristotle's tempering? Would we have wanted someone less strong, less ethical, less driven by duty, to take over as Secretary of Defense? That's a reasonable argument, and we simply cannot know how much either of these individuals struggled with the dilemmas of their position. Still, that's only an explanation, not an excuse. The writer Paul Johnson defined an intellectual as someone who believed that ideas were more More important than people. It was this fallacy, he said, that wrongly encouraged otherwise smart people to rationalize

• 2:17Speaker 00

  Stalin's murderous regime, or attracted them to personalities like Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro. Sometimes people are too smart, too in their own heads, to see what was obvious to any outsider. Or worse, their brain and their ambition overrode their heart, because the heart knows. The heart knows that Alexander and Nero and Borgia and Trump are tragically awful, even if they do or did some good in the world. The point of this email is not to condemn anyone or to get into a partisan argument. Reasonable people can disagree about America's current president, but to serve as a reminder.

• 3:00Speaker 00

  The good guys end up enabling the bad guys far too often. And unlike the stupid, they can't claim ignorance, and unlike the desperate, they can't claim they didn't have a choice. We need to work extra hard to avoid that mistake. If we are already doing it, like if your boss is an abusive wreck of a human, or if your industry makes the world a worse place, then we need to make the hard decision to walk away. Don't let ideas or ideals get in the way the real human cost of your work. Don't be a cautionary tale. It's not too late. If you'd like a physical reminder of this idea, check out our Marcus Aurelius print,

• 3:42Speaker 00

  which now is up on the walls of thousands of people all over the world, and it has some really great advice. It has one of Marcus Aurelius's greatest lines on it. It says, "No more talk about what a good man is like, be one." And you can get it in poster size or a small print size for your desk. You can check that out at the Daily Stoic store. Just go to dailystoic.com/store.