The Civil War Inside Each One Of Us

The Daily Stoic

Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures

Education, Daily Stoic, Society & Culture, Stoic, Stoicism, Self-improvement, Business, Stoic Philosophy, Philosophy, Ryan Holiday

4.6 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2019

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Martin Luther King Jr. was fond of using the American Civil War as a metaphor, not just to explain the divisive political landscape, but the divide within each person. Just as there was a North and South in America (Anti-slavery and Pro-Slavery), there was a divide between good and bad within each of us. There was the part pulled towards higher principles and the part that was willing to compromise with baser instincts.

Certainly, in his own life, King was pulled this way. He was a man of enormous principle and selflessness, but he also had a number of affairs. This was a violation not only of his marriage, but the Christian teachings he preached at the pulpit. He knew better...but found himself doing it anyway. This tension must have been incredibly painful and shameful for him. So when King said that “there is something of a civil war going on within all our lives,” he wasn’t just speaking theoretically. He knew it firsthand.

The point of looking at examples like this isn’t to dismiss someone as a hypocrite—we’ve had quite enough of that zero-sum thinking in recent years and, quite frankly, there’s nothing Stoic about it. Nor are we trying to rationalize or excuse bad behavior. The point is to remember, just like with the US Civil War, that there is no such thing as a perfect person or a perfect cause. For all time, even the best of us have struggled with temptations and personal failings. This is the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after all.

Man has always been pulled apart by competing desires. Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Cato—all the Stoics struggled with it too. They knew the right thing to do—they simply couldn’t always get there. We all fall terribly short of our own standards at times—even low standards. All we can do is get back up when that happens and try better next time. We can’t undo the past, we can’t go back in time, but we can try harder to be better right now—today—and in the future.

Just as we are pulled lower, towards our baser selves, we are also capable of pulling ourselves higher, towards our better selves. The North won the US Civil War. And we can win the one raging inside us too. We just have to realize which side we want to fight for. That self-evaluation starts today.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke Podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today.
0:13.6	Welcome to the Daily Stoke. Or each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life.
0:23.3	Each one of these passages is based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more you can visit us at DailyStoke.com.
0:37.3	The Civil War inside each one of us. Martin Luther King Jr. was fond of using the metaphor of the Civil War. Not just to explain the US political situation but to divide within each person.
0:49.3	Just as there was a North and South in America, anti-slavery and pro-slavery, there was a divide between good and bad within each of us. There was the part pulled towards higher principles and the part that was willing to compromise with baser instincts.
1:04.3	Certainly in his own life, King was pulled this way. He was a man of enormous principle and selflessness but he also had a number of affairs. This was a violation not only of his marriage but of the Christian teachings he preached at the pulpit.
1:17.3	He knew better but he found himself doing it anyway. His tension must have been incredibly painful and shameful for him. So when King said that there was something of a civil war going on within all our lives, he wasn't just speaking theoretically. He knew it firsthand and he didn't always win his own.
1:35.3	The point of looking at examples like this isn't to dismiss someone as a hypocrite. There's nothing stoic about that. The point is to remember that for all time even the best of us have struggled with temptations and personal failings.
1:48.3	Man has always been pulled apart by competing desires. Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Cato, all the stoics struggled with it too. They knew what the right thing was. They just couldn't always get there.
2:01.3	The point of bringing that up isn't to rationalize or excuse bad behavior either. It is to reiterate something that is easily missed and connects nicely to the metaphor of the US civil war.
2:11.3	There is no such thing as a perfect person or a perfect cause. We all fall terribly short of our own standards, even low standards. All we can do is get back up when that happens and try to be better next time.
2:24.3	We can't undo the past. We can't go back in time but we can try harder to be better right now today and in the future. Just as we are pulled lower towards our base ourselves, we are also capable of being pulled higher towards our better self.
2:40.3	The North won the US Civil War and we can win the one raging inside of us starting today.
2:50.3	Please check out the Daily Stoke Store where we sell products that we ourselves use that are designed to take these stoic lessons to the next level. Just go to DailyStoke.com slash store.
3:10.3	Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke early and add free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon Music app today or you can listen early and add free with Wondering Plus in Apple podcasts.

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