Now I know why we are self-destructing.

Epictetus was a Greek stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery in what is now Turkey AD -50. He lived in Rome as a slave and was given permission to study philosophy. Being banished from Rome by Emperor Domitian he went to Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses and Enchiridion. Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline. Epictetus gave European scholars of the Enlightenment an example of a system of ethics that was secular, based not on God's law but on reason and observation of the natural world. Epictetus meant that whatever the other person did is on them. Whatever your reaction is to their remark or action, that’s on you. No one can make you angry, only you have that power. Someone can certainly say something stupid or mean but no one can make you upset – that’s your choice. It is worth remembering that you should never give away your power over yourself. You should not let others bait you. You should not allow yourself to be provoked. Most of all, you can’t blame others if that happens. You control yourself and nobody else. 

Stoicism is no longer a part of our society. Stoicism is a philosophy of our ancestors, Grandfathers, and Great Grandfathers that no longer exists. This absence of philosophy coupled with our belief in the almighty creator of the universe is the direct cause of civil unrest, and the underbelly destruction of our society as our elders created. This destruction should be evident to all and now I know why. It should be obvious to all. How many times do we read something on social media and become angry? How many times do we see something on television and become distraught with anger? We no longer receive the news of the day; we receive another person’s opinion, and we react with malice. The writer, news anchor, or social media influence distracts us from living a better life. We know not how to handle this opposition because Stoicism is no longer taught. Stoicism is an education, a knowledge few possess today and without it, our society crumbles. That is not to say we should become complacent. 

There are politicians who mean to change our society to their vision. There are those in higher education who mean to use indoctrination to change our society. The local college President is paid well over 600k to indoctrinate our youth with hate for America is my observation. There are those who control our media with opinions meant to change our minds or provide propaganda for a cause. 

We write our Senators, and local academia asking for clarification and all we get back are form letters that do not answer our questions. We write our local opinion editors, and some do not respond. This of course is not the case with our most excellent editor, Shana Gray. These changes some seek to our society, and the methods used as described, have devastated our society, and not helped anyone move forward. There seems to be a lack of civil discourse, an apathy if you will. An apathy invoked from those we elect and those who use media to form our opinions, using apathy to garner a reaction is evil. We see this in the “last word” every week. 

We need not lower ourselves any longer to the level of our politicians, writers cloaked in darkness and media hype. We vote politicians in; we vote politicians out until we find those who can serve without malice and are willing to genuinely care to converse the issues of the day and are not agenda-driven. At the same time, we the people need to be reminded of Epictetus. We to need to show restraint, and respect for others and not allow politicians and the media to control us using hate and anger. Once we get angry the politician hides and will only speak to those they agree with because that is the easy way out. In this respect, Politicians can be cowards. We expect our politicians to be better than us, to be leaders. I say it is us who need to be better than them if we seek a good life.