VIR

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As the Spring semester nears, emails come in from the coordinating faculty about changes and expectations. Since I'm teaching a course I haven't taught for some years, I got all of those "welcome to Science123 class!" emails associated therewith and noticed something absolutely flabbergasting in the carbon copy line. A person who filed false police reports against me years ago that were debunked appears to not only not suffered any consequences, but she's also been invited to teach and rewarded with that opportunity. This begs the question of what the incentive actually is to be mannerly, virtuous, and good when at best you can't tell the difference and when at worst other people are elevated above you. It seems like if you are rich, popular, or famous, you can get away with almost anything that the kitten caboodle can only dream, but it also begs the question of whether or not you can actually do good if you do it only because of the incentive. I also wonder, question, or ponder whether that's why so many rich, famous, married, and powerful people seem unhappy. Since they're doing it for the rewards and not for the virtue, can the virtue ever really be present or just the appearance thereof? VIR is latin for "man of virtue", and that is the only honour to which I aspire, to earn that inscription on my headstone.

People vary widely in their reasoning for doing what they do, even when two people do the same thing. For this reason, it matters a great deal to consider why a person does something and not ascribe motives to them without foremost performing that investigation. Most people appear to act for the same reasons that the rest of the animal kingdom does- to gain some personal advantage. They do what it takes to get a raise, to get rich, to get renown, to get other humans to be intimate with them, and then they use this to elevate themselves above the rest in classic Darwinian fashion. As part of his landmark book, "Human Action", Ludwig von Mises explains that everything people do is for a particular yield they hope to gain, even people who are people of virtue. What they desire is virtue, a world of morality and law and honour, and in order to get it, they know it must begin with them. Despite the fact that I have made some mistakes, to which some of you can perhaps attest, I truly do work as hard as I can to be on the best behavior possible in every circumstance because I value virtue more than any advantage the alternatives afford. If I were doing it for some other reason, I would have long abandoned this quixotic quest in order to get some other mortal measurement of value, but those things cannot satisfy. However, since I cannot possibly create a world of virtue in and of myself, that doesn't satisfy me either.

Sometimes despite our best efforts, we can't tell the difference in outcome between the virulent and the virtuous, or in worst case they appear to be inversely rewarded. Far too often, men who might otherwise live virtuous lives cease to do so because they see that virtue doesn't pay and settle for instant albeit temporary gratification offered by mammon. Two men in my congregation at church whom we'll call Mike and Don fit this template. Both Mike and Don share similarities although they are unique and different people. They served as missionaries in Europe, got an advanced education, married in the Faith and then endured a divorce. When Mike's marriage ended, he turned away from the dogma and engaged in all sorts of behaviors contrary to doctrine and Christian morality, but after some time returned, repented, and regained otherwise a full fellowship. Consequently, he met an attractive and able help meet, worked to convert her to the Faith and remarried to the restoration of all blessings as far as I know (they moved after they married to live in her house). Contrariwise, Don remained true to the Faith after he was divorced despite his wife's shenanigans, tried to keep the faith, met a nice young lady who purported and promised to be a good help meet, shared the gospel with her, and then watched it all fall apart because she decided our Faith was evil. He is still devastated by this. Don and Mike received rewards that by all appearance lie disproportionate to their behavior. I don't know all the details or how the stories eventually end, but at this time, the man of virtue seems to have seen the shaft while the other man reaped rewards he did not necessarily sow.

Men of virtue will continue doing their best no matter what happens, no matter what the consequence, and no matter the rewards. They are not perfect, but they will be different from other men you know. They know that the true measure of a man is not in what happens to him or what happens because of his efforts but that it comes out in how he acts because of who he is. Eventually I think most people learn to recognize the best men somehow, but for many good men, that may come too late to be of any real use. What good does it do a young man such as myself to have 70 year old women think he's amazing? When I'm 70, will 70 year olds feel that way about me or just see me as a loser because I never remarried or really ever had a real relationship lasting more than a year? As I discussed this with my best friend and he tossed ideas back at me, I recollected a scene from the movie "Cool Runnings" where the team captain of the Jamaican Bobsledders asks the coach how he'll know his worth. The coach replies, "If you're not enough without it [a gold medal] you'll never be enough with it." A man of virtue knows what he is worth. It doesn't take a medal or a family or a mercedes or a fancy title to make a man great. Yoda taught us that wars do not make one great. What makes one great is consistent reliable adherence to principles. In the moment, that satisfies very little, and over my life time at least it's very empty.

They say that if you desire to know the measure of a man consider what he does for those who can do nothing for him. When the incentive is gone, and a man acts virtuously from the will alone to do things that perhaps lose all relish, when he gives of himself quietly so that others do not know, and when he loses his life for the sake of others, even if he continues to live, that is virtue. We hand out the title of virtuous and good far too easily, far too readily, and all too often we assume those festooned with fanciful plumage to be the best among us when they may be lucky at best and villainous in all reality. If nothing else, 2016 showed us just how difficult it is for persons of any semblance of virtue to rise above the fray and make their power known, but they exist, as surely as you are reading this now, they exist, because without men of virtue, cities fall into ruin and civilizations waste away. For my own part, I ascribe to the mantra of Marcus Aurelius and intend to live the best life I can no matter what happens, because even at worst case I left a good example for my nieces. I want them to know how to recognize men who continue to do the best thing no matter what the outcome, who consistently choose what is best rather than what is best for them so that they'll know who to trust, whom to marry, and to whom they ought to turn.

I get knocked down, but I get up again, and you're never going to keep me down. I try not to impart too much cynicism and bitterness to my Sunday School class or my siblings or my nieces, but I know that they will pick up on it because I'm hurt, I'm disappointed, and I expect the shaft. I hope I don't have to live another 50 years by myself, because I don't think I'll be able to keep this up, and I'm afraid to let God down. I feel lost, like nothing I do really matters. I try to remember that most people if they really knew would be ashamed or are ashamed of how they treat me; I know they didn't intend to hurt me. The problem is that I'm not affected by your intentions, but I am affected by your actions, and I'm trying not to be too upset or hurt or angry. I'm trying to show them that I love them even when they hurt me, because that's the Christian thing to do, that even after Christ bled for our sins He desires our happiness. I hope you are happy and healthy and honest with the people you love now. I hope you keep the promises you made to them. I hope God will keep His promises to you for all the good things you do and are. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas NOW.