Vice and Virtue VI - Liberty

"Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people." - John Adams

Centuries of discussion have turned liberty into a complex philosophical concept. I, on the other hand, like keeping things simple. Ask me what liberty is, and I will say "freedom with responsibility".

You don't need a college degree to know that liberty does not grant you the right to burn your neighbor's car, rape his wife, and sell his daughters to slavery, yet, today, liberty is often confused with license - the freedom to do whatever one desires, with little, or no regard to consequences.
In an insightful article from 1995, called Liberty and Responsibility, Max More nails the issue on the spot:

Liberty is not license. Liberty means freedom from compulsion. It means being free to choose your own actions, make your own plans, and act on your own beliefs and values. If social chaos and disintegration do not concern us, then we may demand freedom alone. If, however, we wish to live a productive, rewarding life in a flourishing society we will affirm that in demanding liberty we agree to take charge of ourselves. Freedom from outside control merely leaves a chaotic void if not replaced by control from within.

Liberty is a vital, fundamental column for a healthy, forward moving society. It encourages innovation, diligence, daring, and taking charge of one's own life, in pursuit of happiness. A culture without liberty is doomed to stagnation (and theft from others), while those who embrace it lead the way. This is a universal law, with many supporting evidence from history: the American experiment is one such example, obviously, but centuries earlier, the citizens of the tiny Dutch Republic had already amazed Europe with their resilience in the face of adversity, and long before them, the tiny city-state of Athens defied the might of the gigantic Persian empire.

But, liberty without a supporting culture is not enough. Like Thomas Jefferson said, "The constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself".
While some are absolutely fine with the notion that it is up to them to achieve happiness and greatness, for others, this is a scary notion. With opportunity comes risk, and so many would prefer to let others decide for them, rather than take responsibility. If something isn't to their liking, they settle for complaining about the actions of those who control their fate. The right to pursue happiness is replaced with an entitled 'right to happiness', and those who don't are compensated for not having equal benefits to those who do - on the expense of the later.
If someone is getting subsidized rent, education, or health-care; a good job despite the lack of necessary skills; or the right to sell a product without having to compete against overseas companies - it always comes on someone else's expense.
When the government starts playing this game of 'correctional' favoritism, all it does is decrease liberty for everyone: those who receive a free piece of the pie become dependent on it, instead of paving their own path, and those who support them lose more and more in the form of taxes and regulations.
Unequal treatment leads to growing envy and resentment, which weakens society as a whole - both to inside, and outside threats. Frederick the Great correctly ascertained that "several republics have fallen back into despotism; it even appears that it is an inevitable misfortune which awaits them all".

The threat of falling back into one form of tyranny or another is always there. That is why liberty, as important as it may be, comes last in my list of values - for it cannot stand without the others.
When people accept responsibility over their lives, and as part of the greater body of a nation; when they know their loyalties, and will not exploit liberty to betray their society; when they use wisdom to make the best choices with the knowledge they possess; when they have the courage to stand against those who seek to distort and destroy their way of life; and when they render justice to those who infringe upon the rights of others, then liberty can flourish, and its fertile fruits can be enjoyed by all who embrace it.

This vision is not intrinsic to man. Instilling it requires education, preserving it requires attention, and protecting it requires a constant vigil, but these are all a small price to pay, for the value of Liberty.

"Where liberty is, there is my country." - Benjamin Franklin

Vice and Virtue V - Justice

"The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government." - George Washington

Like our friend, Mr. Washington, had noticed, the existance of justice makes the difference between civilization, and barbarism; and it is the quality of the justice being dispensed by a society, that tells most of its values.
Because justice is derived from the beliefs of the collective, and acts on its behalf.

To hold the value of justice is, in the simplest of terms, to believe that 'crime should not go unpunished'.
This single line holds much under the surface: first, one needs to acknowledge that there is even such a thing as a crime, which requires a distinction between right and wrong, perpetrators and victims; then, a person needs to believe that all men have free choice - for which they must be held accountable.

Let us now pause for a second, and compare these notions with relativist, liberal-left preachings: they would like us to think criminals are victims themselves, helpless against the 'depravity' of society, and deprived of equal opportunity. They are suffering children who need to be coddled, and 'fixed', rather than human beings who have made conscious choices, that were harmful to others.
Under this world view, there is no room for the actual victims, and they are rarely mentioned.
It is no wonder then, that a liberal judge tells a terrorist that he doesn't understand his own religion, or that when Wikileak's Assange, the infamous attention-seeker, was investigated for charges of rape, other self-serving types, like Michael Moore, rushed to defend him - showing zero regard for justice, and absolutely no care for his victims. Like children in a popularity contest, the only thing that truly mattered, was saving the dubious reputation of their comfortable ally.

Leftists aren't the only ones with skewed ideas of justice. While Obama claims that muslims "share common principles of justice... tolerance, and dignity of all human beings", the truth is they are so full of respect for the dignity of all human rights, that they blame women for being raped. Any female living under sharia-law knows that if she happens to get raped by a man, appealing to a court of law would only bring further punishment upon her.
And if you think this is happening just in backwater islamic countries, guess again.

Benjamin Franklin once said that "without justice, courage is weak". True justice is about balance. It is about human society being mature enough to decide what behaviors it does not tolerate, and courageous enough to punish transgressions against its values. By placing boundaries, and keeping dangerous people in check, honest common folks can go about their lives in peace, fulfilling their personally chosen roles, with the knowledge that if someone crosses the line and harms them, they are not alone. This confidence is a vital part of a healthy society. In post-communist countries, ordinary citizens see laws as unjust, and feel that the only way to get ahead in life, is by breaking them yourself.
Communities flourish on bonds of trust, but trust cannot be built when everyone believes the other is conspiring against him.
Finally, the practice of justice carries an educational value: "crime doesn't pay", which is something all children should learn, as early as possible.

Laws, by themselves, are not enough, and a judiciary system is just that - a system. Judges, lawyers, and lawmakers, who are willing to compromise on values, can turn it all into a travesty. Therefore, firm, standing justice needs to be actively upheld by people who believe in it. The world may not be fair, but we can choose to work towards making it so.

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Next Virtue: Liberty

Vice and Virtue IV - Courage

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Pain

In the previous "Vice and Vurtue" articles, I have written about responsibility, loyalty, and wisdom.

Next, I will discuss courage.

While we might say that courage is simply the ability to overcome fear, it is my intention to give in a narrower, but more positive definition - one that makes it a true virtue.
Courage is the ability to overcome fear, in order to do what's right.

Overcoming the fear of the law in order to strike down an old lady and steal her jewlery, is not courage.
Neither is raiding a caravan for pillage and slaves.
Bold action, as a part of a bad deed, is not courage, because leading to that action, are reasons stemming from fear:
In the case of criminal activity, it is the fear of one's own survival, of never achieving anything meaningful without breaking the law.
In the case of political activity, it is the fear of losing one's career.

As it did not take great courage to be a Nazi in 1930s Germany, or murder helpless Jews in death camps, so does it not take much courage to further islam in this day and age. Back then, it took great courage to shelter a Jewish family, or join the resistance in occupied France. Our challenge is light in comparison - to expose the deceitful ways of those who had erased entire cultures, and would destroy our countries, whether in the name of islam, communism, or any other incarnation of tyranny.

Every bureaucrat, every politician, general, professor, artist, or journalist who justifies the crimes of islam, and blames them on its victims; who takes their dirty oil money to become another puppet and front for their lies; who stomps on the liberties and speech of his own countrymen, who dare to stand in its path of destruction - is a coward.
To say the least.

It is an imaginary character - Saruman the white, first among the wizards of Tolkien's Middle Earth - who exemplifies the temptation of those in power to turn their color, to save their own skin and position, in the face of a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
That enemy, coincidentally, was also stopped by courage.

As much as our turncoats rationalize and justify their behavior, there is nothing behind it but plain cowardice - the refusal to make a stand, take the unpopular route, and face the risks. It is quite easier to blame America, or Israel, or the Illuminati, for that matter. Anyone who isn't likely to put a fatwa on you, and stab you in the middle of the street for drawing a mediocre cartoon of a pedophiliac mass murderer.

It may take courage to be a human rights activist who protects Christians in Africa, but absolutely none to help Arab invaders in their occupation of Jewish land, or join a terrorist ship, and face Israeli commandos armed with paintball guns.
On the other hand, it takes courage to be those commandos, or any soldier of the civilized world, who risks his life and limb, while obeying absurd rules of engagement*. They do not break ranks - neither should we. The mere act of standing up for what's right, even when it is not popular; calling out the lies we are all told every day, by those who claim to be our leaders, our educators, our betters; and simply not following the brainwashed crowd - is courageous enough. The American revolution did not start with gunpowder and a musket-ball, but with the burning heat of fiery of words.

As Daniel Greenfield wrote on Wanted: Men and Women of Courage:
"Courage is not simply rushing into a fire, it is also defying convention and conformity. One man with courage makes a majority, because courage rests in holding to ideals rather than bowing to the majority. And that is what we need. Men and women with the courage to go on defying conformity and speak out for what is right."

One person, with courage, is an army, because courage, like laughter, is contagious: it invigorates, strengthens, and fills others with alacrity. It unites us, and brings us all together to perform deeds greater than we would have ever thought of doing on our own.

But courage does not reside only in the realm of grand things - it is tested frequently in our daily lives: whether it is your kid facing a bully in school, a friend who's about to go into business with the wrong people, or a co-worker getting blamed for someone else's doing, there is always the dillema, and the fear of taking action.

So let courage prevail, and let it supply the vital energy that is required to preserve our wisdom, maintain our loyalties, and fulfill our responsibilities. Like Samuel Johnson once said, "courage is the greatest of all virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others".

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* The most extreme case I can think of is that of a UK soldier who took a shot to the head, in order to avoid firing at a terrorist that used a girl for a shield. Commendable, perhaps, but extremely foolish. His own son needed a father with an intact skull, not a hero. Thankfully, his helmet worked better than his brain.

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Next Virtue: Justice

Vice and Virtue III - Wisdom

"Intellect is invisible to the man who has none" - Arthur Schopenhauer (German Philosopher, 1788-1860)

It has been my dubious privilege to witness how in the last few decades basic forms of entertainment, such as radio and single-channel TV, gradually gave way to a plethora of wireless multimedia devices, and full feature CGI films that are barely indistinguishable from their real life counterparts (including the juvenile plots).
Yet, while the technical knowledge of youngsters may be flabbergasting, and their ability to embrace new inventions staggering, their capacity to make decisions, weigh ethical choices, judge character, and predict the consequences of actions, are vastly inferior to those of previous generations. Yes, they may be able to type lightning-fast messages in Facebook, but not with actual words*. While they may have seen how humans think and act on cable television, these characters are the artificial construct of political correctness, mixed with the abysmal writing skills of people equally lacking in emotional depth, so by mimicking them the unfortunate viewers end up with an exceedingly poor ability to form meaningful connections with others, not to mention act like responsible adults.
Protest all you wish, but despite all the goods and services thrown their way, the face of the current generation in first-world countries is the face of a dog licking its own behind, certain that it had discovered a gateway to some magical kingdom.

Enter wisdom, that cryptic, antique word that may ring a bell to anyone who has ever played D&D (or beat up somebody who did), which is also known as common sense. If Intelligence is the capacity to learn, store, and use knowledge, wisdom is the ability to decide how to use that knowledge.

A knowledgeable person may prepare for the possibility of global warming in ten years; a wise one would first prepare for the snowstorms of this winter.
An intelligent man may know the law, but a wise one would know when it needs to be changed.
When reading an article in the newspapers, intelligence may understand and memorize its content, but wisdom would tell you when the journalist is likely to be promoting a hidden agenda.
Intelligence may tell you that it's good to warm-up before physical exercise; wisdom would suggest skipping that when being charged by a raging bull.
We may have all been taught to tolerate different cultures, but it is wisdom that tells us where to draw the line.

Because first-world countries are teeming with knowledge, but are wanting in wisdom, we see many college students that cannot understand the difference between the theory taught in classrooms, and the complexity of real-life situations. Socialism can sound just and viable on paper, but once it collides with the intricacies of human society, with its layers upon layers of power struggles, it invariably ends in tyranny, and yet, it is still taught as a viable solution, and young minds, having neither the experience, nor the wisdom to discern it properly, fall under its false promises of a brighter future.
It is this haughty pseudo-intellectualism, filled with selective knowledge, and zero wisdom, that creates all those individuals, who preach about the merits of islam, while remaining blind to what it truly is.
A person who cannot ascertain the validity of the information he is being fed, is equally likely to believe Saudi propaganda, as he is to trust a fellow countryman.

Wisdom, as a value, is a boon for society. Compare the ancient Athenians to the barbarians that surrounded them - even to the immense, and wealthy Persian empire, and see who had contributed more knowledge and value to the whole of humanity. In a society that values wisdom, the experience of mature, and elderly people, is priceless.
In contrast, a society built solely around the pursuit of immediate, shallow thrills, would invariably turn to the worship of youth, but the young, with all their attractiveness and confidence, do not add to the collective knowledge of society**.
Such societies are doomed to stagnate, slip into decadence, and eventually suffer an internal revolution (France), or are conquered by more violent outsiders (Rome).

Let us not become like them. Let us value, and learn from our elders, so that their knowledge and wisdom would live on in us. A man who bedded forty teenage girls, is nothing compared to the one who kept his marriage intact for forty years; licentious starlets who can't even remember to put underwear on are a pathetic role-model next to a woman who managed to raise four kids to be responsible adults.

If Philosophy is the love of wisdom, then a car mechanic can be as much of a philosopher as a faculty member who wears expensive suits and writes for the Washington Post.
Knowledge is power, and we should all strive to use it well.

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* To quote Mark Zuckerberg's 'ingenius' opinion of the complications of e-mail: “Think of the friction of trying to think of the e-mail address and think of a subject line, write ‘Hey Mom,’ at the top and ‘Love, Mark’ at the bottom.”
** That is, with the exception of geniuses, who break boundaries at very young ages.

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Next Virtue: Courage

Vice and Virtue II - Loyalty

In the first part of the "Vice and Virtue" series, I advocated the value of responsibility, which, in my view, forms the very basis of a healthy, civilized society.

But even when people act responsibly, they are not in a vacuum. Our loyalties, or lack-thereof, shape and define who we are. Is a woman a mother who fiercely defends her infants, or sees them as an unwanted burden? Is a man willing to put his money, name, or life on the line for a friend?
And for an ideal?

Loyalty can be explained in words: a committed emotional attachment that signifies devotion and allegiance.
But it is an emotion, and so must be felt, not simply understood. For this, I'd like you, the reader, to try and imagine who, or what, you would never turn your back to, even if offered all the money in the world.

Decades of smearing campaigns by leftist un-education have eroded loyalty as a 'foolish' behavior. Children are suggested that they should always put themselves first in any relationship. As these children grow-up (but do not mature), they begin to pay for this attitude: first when their personal relationships falter, and later when their own children turn on them.
Putting yourself first only means that, in the long-run, everyone else would put you last.

And then we read those idiotic news titles about celebrities bragging how happy they are to be alone.
Allow me to snicker in contempt. A small cup may fill fast, but a pathetic lie only makes a person more pathetic.

Then there is the hyper-sensitive idea of loyalty to a nation, which has become the equivalent of Fascism. While it's true that Fascist states demanded obedience from their populations, so did the nations that fought against them. The United States, and the British commonwealth did not ask people nicely whether they were interested in stopping Hitler, and then go have a cup of tea with one of his secretaries - they trained them to fight.
However, loyalty is not mere obedience. It cannot be commanded through fear, and requires a willing participation. It also has to be preserved through reciprocal actions, or what we get is exploitation.

So ask what your country can do for you, and what you can do for your country. That's the only correct rule.

A country is not the government. It is not the bureaucracy, and the institutions. A nation is comprised of "the people", and their values. This is where one's loyalty should lie with. That is the difference between Democracy, and the obedience of Fascism.

Being loyal does not mean to mindlessly agree and accept everything a friend, spouse, boss, troops, or country do, but rather to stand by their side, without compromising your own beliefs. For example, the Tea Party, while critical of the American government, is still loyal to the United States. Code Pink, on the other hand, is not.

Another person who doesn't have her loyalties sorted out is Anat Kam, an ex-IDF soldier who, while on duty, has leaked numerous secret documents to circles within the leftist media, under the guise of 'moral outrage'.
By breaching the trust of her superiors, and handing over sensitive information to elements hostile to the state, this woman has put her own needs and desires above those of the Israeli people. Therefore, as much as Anat's clique would like to paint her as some ideological hero, she is nothing but a common traitor.

In contrast, think about the drafted men, who walked towards the horrors of battle in WWII, or the Civil War, and did not break rank. They knew that upon their actions, their loyalty, lay the future of their country and home.
During the American War of Independence, when the British came for Thomas Jefferson at his home in Monticello, Robert Hemings and family - his black slaves - refused to cooperate, even under threat of bayonets.

So, when we compare these behaviors, we should ask ourselves which face should our society have, and who do we want our neighbors to be. Should we cry 'every man to himself', until every single principle is compromised for personal gain, and predators devour us whole.
Or do we want to be a part of something bigger.

So let us preach loyalty, in favor of creating long-lasting bonds: between husband and wife, parents and children, employer and employee, friends, siblings, and whole communities.
Because to have true freedom, we first need to have freedom from betrayal.

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Next Virtue: Wisdom

Vice and Virtue I - Responsibility

Hello everyone, in the "Vice and Virtue" series of articles I plan to give some food for thought regarding the nature of civilization, societies, and the values we can all stand behind. The civilized world is under an onslaught of barbarism, which is aided by the seditious activities of divisive forces at home. These destructive forces challenge us to define what we value and cherish, what we believe in, what we refuse to accept, and as a result - who we are.
It is my humble hope that the thoughts shared here would spur some discussion, and I am more than willing to integrate the ideas of others, with due credit, along the way.
So, without further ado, let us begin.

It is unclear to me when exactly did Responsibility turn into a profane word that nobody wants to hear, let alone adopt, but if I ever had to draw one connecting line between all the forces that seek to undo civilization, it would be their lack of personal responsibility.
Over my long period of studying society and human behavior, I couldn't help but notice the glaring similarities between feminist-brainwashed women, leftists, and muslims. For leftists or Muslims, America, Europe, India, and Israel are always wrong; for feminists - it is men. For leftists, primitive brutes are always victims, who are not accountable for their actions; for feminists it is women; and for muslims - themselves.
Both Islamic and Feminist organizations use deception and outright lies to advance their agendas: leaving poor, honest people stumped, as they struggle to defend themselves against ridiculous, irrational, and sometimes imaginary charges.
Finally, Socialists, Muslims, and Feminists, all claim to work towards some Utopian future - one with no class-differences, infidels... or men.

These similarities: a simple "us Vs. them", master-slave, oppressor-oppressed world view; the blatant disregard for the truth, justice, or civilized conduct; and a dream of some perfect, uncomplicated future, are not coincidental. Neither it is coincidence that so many of these groups, which originated in advanced first-world societies, find allies amongst backward, barbaric murderers.

It is because the face of the current generation is that of a child.

Irresponsible, frivolous, self-centered, and undependable - the rebellious teenager, and spoiled infant, have become role-models, rather than undesirables.
Open a TV set, flip through a few random popular channels, and tell me if you can find a role-model for children that does more than inflate his muscles, wear ridiculous jewelry, own a big house (or an even bigger car), get drunk at parties while taking her clothes off, or use multiple, semi-clothed women as scenery for his barely-literate song lyrics.
Glorified meat bags are an easy dream to sell, because they create the illusion that anyone can be a respected, loved and revered, for no other reason than fame itself, no matter how it has been achieved. In fact, the more notorious the path to celebrity status, the better - especially if it has nothing to do with hard work, or having an active brain. Like a lottery contest for dysfunctional halfwits, all one has to do is sign up for some contest, and hope his number comes up.

You won't see a courageous woman like Elisabeth Sabadditsch-Wolfe given a prime-time show, but put a spoiled, useless brat like Paris Hilton in a ranch, and voile! TV gold. In fact, the female role-models of today are so terrible, this issue is worth a separate article by itself. And yet I can't help but mention how every Hollywood scientist somehow manages to maintain a perfect hairdo, and work out in the gym three hours a day, when she's supposed to be diffusing nuclear weapons.

For at least half a century, the culture of the civilized world has regressed into Infantilism: adolescents who are forever locked in a struggle with their parents, and refuses to embrace an adult role - even when they become parents themselves.
When a mother treats her daughter as a friend, you know she is so irresponsibly insecure, as to abdicate the very role she took upon giving birth.

Artists create meaningless art, and are more interested in being 'weird', or technologically interesting, than delivering a real message and providing inspiration. If forced, they may mumble something about a cause that's acceptable in their own clique - like being anti-war, or anti-brain. What's left is a constant cry for attention, without an added value to society.

Journalists take the easy route, as one's personal career is always more important than telling the truth, or dealing with hard issues that others fear mentioning - you know, what actual journalism is all about. Instead, they tackle problems that will give them consensus, while avoiding bigger issues. The collective gung-ho on the imaginary crimes of Israel, while turning two blind eyes and a chopped arm to the entire muslim world, sticks out as one obvious example of this behavior.

In the world of science, research projects are being skewed (or ignored), in order to provide a result that was predetermined by private organizations. I'm not even going to get into how being a person of science has transformed from a respected, enviable, and sought after status, to that of dorks and nerds - people so uninteresting that they can't possibly have more to say about the world than fifteen-year-old clubbers, even if they invented everything that the later enjoy, from motorized vehicles and 4000 watt amplifier systems, to cellphones, wireless internet, and the 'day after' pill.

Even religion has taken a step backward into superstition: easy-to-digest mystical stories and magical tricks, that offer a sense of satisfaction and identity, without the burden of duty. Every Harry Potter and Madonna wannabe embrace some form of Kabbalah and Paganism, in the hope of, possibly, riding a broom into the air, healing the universe (without confronting evil, great idea!), and sprouting trees by waving their Phoenix tail magic wand (and if you believe in that, care to buy my own Griffin wand for the reasonable price of 9,999.99$?).

Carpe Diem has become the phrase of the day - spend money you don't have, chase the next adrenaline or sexual rush, and to hell with anyone that might get hurt in the way - including yourself. The only thing that matters is to live for the now, and have no regrets (because weighing decisions taken requires responsibility - that obnoxious trait of 'squares').
But having fun all the time is an empty, closed circuit goal, that eventually leaves those who pursue it empty, because living for the sake of oneself fails to produce meaningful emotional connections. Sure, irresponsible risk taking may have an aura of heroics, but true heroes are those who contribute to others, or at least take risks for an important cause. Taking one bungee jump, for fun, is nothing to judge a person by. Taking one every day, on the other hand, is darn-right stupid.
And when that emptiness finally takes hold, all the lash-outs and blames against the adults and their 'boring discipline' cannot fix it, just like when a civilization that stood in place for centuries, never acknowledging the errors of its past, cannot expect to miraculously be more advanced than those who did.

And so, lastly, this ongoing adolescence has proliferated all the way to the top: politicians have become so irresponsible, that they blame the voter for not following suit with their plans. Rather than acknowledge their failure to perform their intended role as representatives of the public, they turn on it.
If they can never be wrong, and the other side is never right, is it any wonder, then, that the American president himself refers to his people as gun toting bible nuts?

Here in Israel, when a general, politician, tycoon, or some other high-ranker is being caught (for just breaking the rules isn't even considered immoral), you can be sure than instead of a resignation, there would be a parade of their close friends attesting to the criminal's clean soul, and white bedsheets. The only thing that's important is saving one's career, because, after all, personal responsibility is a dirty word that doesn't get one anywhere.
The essence of corruption is people in power who put themselves above their roles.

So, for all of the above, I advocate the value of Responsibility.
What is this 'responsibily', you ask? Well, it is a part of the thought process that considers the effects and consequences of one's actions on others. It requires some imagination for making educated guesses, a caring for someone besides the 'self', or at the bare minimum to be able to reject an unfamiliar idea, until it is more fully understood.

Responsibility: in relationships, when every side invests in a long-term connection, rather than take what they can, play petty power games, and blame the other when things go wrong; in a workplace, when one aspires to perform his job as it was meant to be, and to his full ability, rather than focus on accomplishing as little as possible, while exploiting his employer (or subordinates); in government, where leaders should put the utmost, grave importance on the future lives of their subjects, rather than steal their money and vacation in Spain; in art, where the power of creativity can be put to inspire minds - both young and old, instead of providing superficial sophistication, with no real content behind it; in both personal and national economics, to promote self-reliance and balanced spending, rather than become indebted to foreign powers until the end of time; and in education, where teachers and parents are to take the hard route of shaping a young mind to be a civilized, respectable, and responsible adult, rather than cater to their crying tantrums, and unleash immature babies that end up hurting the whole of society.

A responsible society is a healthy society - one that can withstand the onslaught of seditious, destructive ideologies. A responsible society knows that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, because as long as there is freedom, there would be those who seek to subvert and destroy it. Responsibility leads to courage, and courage leads to unity. It is a more difficult path, but a necessary one for survival. Therefore, men and women who show a true sense of duty deserve the utmost respect, and have every reason to be proud of themselves.

To summarize, would you rather place your fate in the hands of men like these:
Or these?

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Next Virtue: Loyalty