Elliot Ackerman on Writing, Military Service, and Polarization | People Do Well When They Can
The Daily Stoic
Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures
4.5 • 5.3K Ratings
🗓️ 9 March 2022
⏱️ 87 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ryan reads today’s daily meditation and talks to Elliot Ackerman about his book Green on Blue, how he became a writer, his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, the problems of radicalization and polarization, and more.
Elliot Ackerman is the author of the novels 2034, Red Dress In Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, as well as the memoir Places and Names: On War, Revolution and Returning. His books have been nominated for the National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in both fiction and non-fiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize among others. His writing often appears in Esquire, The New Yorker, and The New York Times where he is a contributing opinion writer, and his stories have been included in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Travel Writing. He is both a former White House Fellow and Marine, and served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. |
| 0:11.2 | Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where each weekday we bring you a |
| 0:16.3 | Meditation inspired by the ancient Stoics a short |
| 0:20.0 | passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength and insight here in everyday life and on Wednesdays |
| 0:27.5 | we talk to some of our fellow students of ancient philosophy well known and obscure |
| 0:33.9 | Fascinating and powerful with them we discuss the strategies and habits that have helped them become who they are and |
| 0:41.0 | also to find peace and wisdom in their actual lives, but first we've got a quick message from one of our sponsors. |
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| 1:01.6 | Clock in and listen to this job is history on Amazon music or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:07.7 | Let's say you love sports, but are also you know a busy person you want to know the latest sports news |
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| 1:20.1 | Listen to the lead starting five on Amazon music or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:27.8 | People do well when they can. |
| 1:30.8 | Going back to Socrates we have this idea that most people are doing the best they can that almost nobody does the wrong thing on purpose. |
| 1:38.1 | No, they believe what they think is correct. They're doing what they think is right. What they think they're capable of doing in the moment. |
| 1:44.8 | When I interviewed Dr. William sticks rod and Ned Johnson about their book The Self-Driven Child |
| 1:49.5 | which I carry at the painted porch bookstore they paraphrase an idea from Dr. Ross Green that's worth committing to memory. |
| 1:56.3 | People do well when they can. |
| 1:59.6 | People are usually acting with good intentions. So when people wrong you or frustrate you or their actions perplex you |
| 2:05.7 | Remember that you yourself are not seeing the whole picture. People have other stuff going on. They don't have the tools or the resources or the education that you have. |
| 2:13.6 | They don't have your same sense of good. They aren't perfect. They can't do the impossible. |
... |
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