David Brooks' latest book, The Road to Character, talks about virtue in the era of what he calls "The Big Me." There are resume virtues that are good for finding a job or advancing in the world, and there are eulogy virtues, like kindness, faithfulness, self-control, and so on. Brooks holds that without the eulogy virtues, the resume virtues are pointless and eventually useless. In The Road to Character, he summarizes the lives of people of great character, focusing on their signature virtue. Many of these people wrote books, but often not about themselves, and if so, unwillingly, as that would be tooting their own horn. So, if you have read The Road to Character and are looking for more about some of these people, this post is for you.
Dorothy Day's autobiography, The Long Loneliness, chronicles her journey from promiscuity and flightiness to commitment to social causes and Catholicism. While she may fudge a fact or two, this is an inspiring story of an incredibly self-critical woman. CPL also has The Catholic Worker (the magazine Day founded) available as reference material at HWLC.
Dwight Eisenhower wrote about his time as a commander of the Allies in WWII in Crusade in Europe. In his own self-deprecating way, Ike gives one of the best accounts of the planning and execution of D-Day and what he thought about it. His other book, At Ease, has some charming anecdotes about his life, not just in the Army.
Bayard Rustin is probably the greatest civil rights activist you've never heard of. Brought low in the 1940s by his ill-considered sexual escapades, he worked behind the scenes to organize the March on Washington and classes in nonviolent resistance. Rustin was very effective in making events happen, and the lesson of his life was self-control and redemptive suffering. For his works on nonviolent revolution, check out Strategies for Freedom and Down the Line. Rustin also has a collection of writings titled Time on Two Crosses.
Of course, these are only three of the people profiled in The Road to Character. There are others just as deserving, but there is only so much room in one post. If you've read the book, or have other people you think epitomize eulogy virtues, please tell us in the comments.
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