Deep Something

Warriors for Justice: A Stoic Response to Robert Reich

July 18, 2025July 16, 2025 B. John 1085 Views 1 Comment John Wesley, methodism, Epictetus, Robert Reich, Pigliucci, Seneca

Your first thought might be: One more warrior is exactly what we do not need in this moment. The world feels overrun with conflict already. But what if the kind of warrior we need now is not one who fights for dominance or control, but one who stands calmly for conscience, who chooses clarity over chaos and courage over comfort? That is the kind of warrior Robert Reich wrote about — a woman on the front lines of immigration defense, who meets injustice not with rage, but with a quiet joy rooted in purpose. Her story holds a lesson as old as the Stoics and as current as the morning’s headlines.

This reflection is part of the ongoing “Stoicism Journey” series, which explores how ancient Stoic principles can offer clarity, strength, and moral direction in today’s world. Each piece connects Stoic thought to real-life challenges, often intersecting with faith, justice, and the pursuit of a meaningful life. In this installment, we respond to a story shared by Robert Reich, considering what it means to be a warrior for justice in dishonorable times.

Culture Featured Stoicism

Willing or Dragged: Cleanthes, Fate, and the Way of Alignment

July 1, 2025July 2, 2025 B. John 931 Views 0 Comments Judaism, Merton, Christianity, deVega, Islam, Stoicism, Pigliucci, Cleanthes

What if freedom isn’t about control, but about cooperation with the deeper order of things? Inspired by Cleanthes’ timeless Stoic insight, this essay explores how fate doesn’t force us—it invites us. Whether guided or dragged, the choice is ours.

Culture Featured Stoicism

Why We Turn to the Stoics: Wisdom for Troubled Times

June 20, 2025June 25, 2025 B. John 985 Views 0 Comments Mr. Rogers, Holiday, Stoicism, Aurelius, Epicetus, Pigliucci, Lasso

We often imagine philosophy as a distant, academic pursuit that can seem abstract and untethered. But Stoicism has never been like that. From its earliest roots in ancient Greece, Stoicism was always meant to be lived, not just studied. It was forged not in ivory towers but in marketplaces, battlefields, and courtrooms. Its great teachers, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca, weren’t cloistered scholars. They were slaves, emperors, and advisors. They lived in the thick of things, often in perilous times, as do we. In our current world, shaped by uncertainty, political upheaval, global conflict, and the erosion of trust in institutions, many of us are looking for something steady. Not false reassurance. Not a distraction. But clarity. A framework that doesn’t promise control over the chaos but a way to remain centered within it.