THE COMEBACK:

I hate it when you

flirt!

Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. Hate me because your boyfriend thinks so.

THE MESSAGE:

What is character? From where does courage originate? We are not born with it. It must be developed through making choices and deciding on which road to take when faced with difficult challenges. The person with courage lives a life of reality and has taken large steps towards unselfishness, empathy, reliability, leadership, love, faith, truth and reputation, etc. These qualities are key to creating an individual who can survive and thrive in a complex world! Unfortunately there are too many humans that use greed and self-gratification when dealing with reality.

British poet William Ernest Henley describes how a man should respond to challenges in his poem “Invictus”.

Every man should have an unconquerable spirit. When life kicks you in the ass get back up and kick life in the ass. At 12 years of age he was stricken with tuberculosis of the bone. He had to have his leg amputated to the knee and doctors told him he would have to have the other one amputated if he were to survive. He kicked them in the ass and ended up keeping it. Henley led an active life with one leg and had a successful career as a poet and literary critic. His creations emphasized that one should never lose hope no matter the circumstance. He concentrated on how to control your fate and decide your future.

TONY TODAY:

David Brooks in his book titled 'The Road to Character' stresses a different message, he maintains that we do not create our lives; rather, we are confronted by life. The important answers are not found inside, they are found outside our beings. In searching for the answers he asks, what does life want from me? What are my circumstances calling me to do?

Consider the attempt to comfort an individual enduring some trauma. Many of us stumble in the face of traumatic situations. People with ‘Character' know exactly what to do. In the first place, they just show up and don't make excuses or comparisons. The sensitive person understands that each person's ordeal is unique. Next, they do the practical things like organizing and performing any tasks that are lying around waiting to be dealt with. They don't try to minimize what is going on and never attempt to reassure with meaningless, sugary sentiments. They don't say that the pain will eventually wane. They do not resort to silver linings. They let the sufferer define the meaning of any pain and darkness by being practical, human, simple, direct and quite helpful.

THE MUSIC:

Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville Don't Know Much live 1990

THE STUFF:

Humility is the greatest of virtues and if you can’t learn it, God will teach it to you by humiliation.
Sin is a necessary piece of our mental furniture because it reminds us that life is a moral affair.
Moderation is based on the idea that things do not fit neatly together.
Politics is always a competition between opposing interests.
Philosophy is likely to be a tension between competing half-truths.