Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America's Greatest Virtue - Hardcover

Bobb, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1595555692 ISBN 13: 9781595555694

Verlag: Thomas Nelson, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

There is no formula for becoming humble—not for individuals, and not for nations.

Benjamin Franklin’s dilemma—one he passed on to the young United States—was how to achieve both greatness and humility at once. The humility James Madison learned as a legislator helped him to mold a nation, despite his reputation as a meek, timid, and weak man. The humility of Abigail Adams fed her impossible resilience. Humility of all kinds is deeply ingrained in our American DNA. Our challenge today is to rediscover and reawaken this utterly indispensable, alarmingly dormant national virtue before it’s too late.

In Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America’s Greatest Virtue, Dr. David J. Bobb traces the “crooked line” that is the history of humility in political thought. From Socrates to Augustine to Machiavelli to Lincoln, passionate opinions about the humble ruler are literally all over the map. Having shown classical, medieval, and Christian ideas of humility to be irreconcilable, Dr. Bobb asserts that we as a nation are faced with a difficult choice. A choice we cannot put off any longer.

“The power promised by humility is power over oneself, in self-government,” says Dr. Bobb. “[But] humility’s strength is obscured by the age of arrogance in which we live.”

George Washington’s humility, as great as it was, cannot substitute for ours today. We must reintegrate this fundamental virtue if there is to be an American future. The rediscovery of humility’s strength awaits.

"Humility is essential to good character—and to our country. In this smart and lively book, David Bobb illustrates this virtue with the stories of five great Americans. And he reminds us that humility is at the core of our national creed of equality and liberty."

—Paul Ryan

"Nothing defies political correctness and the prevailing zeitgeist as radically as the notion that humility remains an important virtue. Dr. Bobb not only makes the case for this dismissed and disregarded value but emphasizes its importance as part of the American national character."

—Michael Medved, syndicated talk radio host

"A lively and counterintuitive argument, spiced with witty prose and engaging vignettes of Franklin, Washington, Madison, Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Abigail Adams."

—Robert Faulkner, professor of Political Science, Boston College; author, The Case for Greatness

“Dr. David Bobb has written a timely and timeless book on a vital virtue absent from far too many leaders today.  Humility should be required reading for leaders in the public and private sector as well as in our homes and communities.  In an age of arrogance there is much to be learned and strength to be gained from returning to the principle, power and pattern of humility contained in this extraordinary book.”  

 --Mike Lee, U.S. Senator, Utah

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

David J. Bobb, Ph.D., is executive director of citizen education for Hillsdale College, and lecturer in politics. He is the founding director of two centers for Hillsdale, the Washington, D.C.-based Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship, and the Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence. He has written widely for national publications including The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company.

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HUMILITY

AN UNLIKELY BIOGRAPHY OF AMERICA'S GREATEST VIRTUE

By DAVID J. BOBB

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2013 David J. Bobb
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-59555-569-4

Contents

Author's Note..............................................................
xi
PART I: EARLY LIFE.........................................................
1 Benjamin Franklin's Dilemma..............................................
3
2 Jesus and Socrates.......................................................
12
3 The City of the Humble and the City of the Proud.........................
32
PART II: TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS............................................
4 George Washington........................................................
51
5 James Madison............................................................
77
6 Abigail Adams............................................................
106
7 Abraham Lincoln..........................................................
127
8 Frederick Douglass.......................................................
156
PART III: AN AGE OF ARROGANCE..............................................
9 The Fragile Brilliance of Glass..........................................
185
Notes......................................................................
189
A Moral Taxonomy...........................................................
207
Suggested Further Reading..................................................
211
Acknowledgments............................................................
213
About the Author...........................................................
215
Index......................................................................
217

CHAPTER 1

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S DILEMMA

Hundreds of years of expansion resulted in a vast territory inwhich its people lived in peace, united by a common tongue. Itsmilitary was the mightiest on the planet. No other nation couldequal its wealth. It was the global leader in technology. Yet as theprosperity of the republic grew, the moral excellence of its elite faded.Adventures abroad brought the promise of greater glory but also theplague of war without end. Higher taxes on the wealthy failed to satisfythe growing appetite of a large bureaucracy. Transformed by anew set of leaders and transfixed by power, a once-proud republicbecame an arrogant empire.

For the revolutionary Founders of America, Rome's examplewas both familiar and unsettling. Having read Edward Gibbon'sThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, America'sFounding Fathers sought to learn from his conclusions so that theirnew nation would avoid the imperial fate of Rome. "Immoderategreatness," Gibbon wrote, caused it to fall. Early Americans knewthat for their enterprise to become great, humility would be necessary.They also knew that of all the virtues of the human heart,humility is the most hard-won.

No one is naturally humble, but pride comes as easily to us assleeping or smiling. My wife and I can see that almost every day in thelives of our two sons. In one unforgettable moment several years ago,our older boy reached an infant's peak of pride. Sitting upright withoutany assistance—flexing his flabby muscles of independence—ourlittle explorer looked like he had summited Everest. An explosion ofpride lit his face. Beaming, my wife and I reflected that pride back toour baby. "We're so proud of you!" we exclaimed.

It is a phrase a fortunate child will hear often enough to enlargehis heart but not so frequently as to swell his head. Just as pridecomes naturally to human beings, so too does arrogance—or pridethat exceeds the reality of one's merit. Arrogant people celebrate theirown existence above all else and enlarge their own orbit at others'expense. To be proud of one's accomplishments, family, or countrymakes sense only if they are worthy of that pride. Healthy prideis tied to truth, and pride devoid of merit is arrogance. Humility'sopposite is arrogance, not pride.

Though the virtue of humility is occasionally praised in somefaraway tribe, remote religious order, or politician's rural birthplace,the reality of our fame-addled and power-hungry existence todaymeans that arrogance is rewarded and humility is ignored. Ego tripsare occasions for everyday media adulation. Cocksure, supercilious,and narcissistic displays of arrogance abound in every arena of life,while acts of humility go unnoticed and unheralded.

Our age of arrogance obscures the idea that humility is theindispensable virtue for the achievement of greatness. The personalsignificance of this idea is radical: to be truly great, one hasto be humble. The political significance of this idea is profound: tobe truly and enduringly great, a nation's hallmark must be humility.For Americans, this idea should have immense consequence, forour greatest moments have been marked by humility. Our futureshould be informed by that past. The lives of George Washington,James Madison, Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and FrederickDouglass have much to teach us about humility. Surprising as it mayseem, "American humility" is not an oxymoron.

"IT'S HARD TO BE HUMBLE"

It's not easy at first glance to see how humility could ever lead togreatness. Humility hardly seems that good, let alone great. Implyingsomething lacking—a loss of strength or a sapping of vitality—humilityoften strikes modern individuals as something to be avoided. Observedsuperficially, humility can appear weak and passive—anything but great.Greatness seems strong and energetic—anything but humble. "It's hardto be humble," Muhammad Ali is reported to have said, "when you'reas great as I am."

Humility is hard to achieve, even when you're not "the Greatest."It's more difficult to be great and humble at the same time. After all,humility requires exacting and often painful self-knowledge for anyperson but especially for one who thinks himself great. The humbleperson must acknowledge that he is not self-made, nor at the centerof the universe. Unblinkered self-knowledge reveals our imperfections.Humility requires that we admit when we are wrong and thenchange course. It is the soul's state of self-knowledge in which we putothers ahead of ourselves in thought, word, and deed—despite ourtendency to self-aggrandizement.

The true power of humility is missed by many successful peopletoday. Why should I become a wimp? the hard-charging individualwonders. Believing that humble folks must be shy and retiring,never forceful or magnetic, today's achievers cannot imagine themselvesever sitting on the sidelines. Humble people, they think,have poor self-esteem and probably even hate themselves. They'repushovers—meek, timid, and weak. To become humble in politics,business, or even in daily life is to give up on the possibility ofimpressive achievement.

In reality, humility is strength, not weakness. It is the crownof the virtues. Humility enables courage and points wisdom inthe right direction. It is the backbone of temperance, and it makeslove possible. Writing in the fifth century, Saint Augustine...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Thomas Nelson
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1595555692
• ISBN 13: 9781595555694
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 240
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Reckitt Benckiser Deutschland GmbH; consumerhealth_de@reckitt.com; ; Darwinstrasse 2-4; Heidelberg; 69115; Deutschland