The Stockdale Paradox

I’m in my mid-forties and the first presidential election I ever voted in was the fall after my senior year in high school, when Bill Clinton defeated incumbent George Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot. That election, which seems so quaint compared to recent presidential elections, is remembered for Clinton playing the saxophone on Arsenio Hall and Ross Perot and his crazy charts and graphs buying up TV time to talk about the “giant sucking sound” of jobs being lost to Mexico. One of the minor players of the 1992 election was Admiral James Stockdale, who uttered the famous line, “Who am I? Why am I here?”, as he introduced himself in the VP debate. A public that knew little about Stockdale and his amazing story turned the Admiral into late night comedy fodder, with Phil Hartman on SNL with one of the more memorable impressions.

As an 18-year-old at the time I was unfamiliar with Stockdale’s bravery during the Vietnam War. It wasn’t until later in college at the University of Arizona that I became familiar with his incredible story. At a different stage in my life, as I become a fan of Stoic philosophy, I was introduced to that side of Stockdale.

Like many I learned about Stockdale’s time as a POW in Vietnam through the story of John McCain. The future Presidential candidate was an Arizona Senator during my time in Arizona as a college student. While McCain’s fame greatly surpassed that of Stockdale, it was Stockdale who was the highest ranking POW in Vietnam, commanding the rest of the POW’s during his time in captivity. In all Admiral Stockdale spent nearly 8 years in captivity, over half of those years in solitary confinement. This included two years in leg irons. In all he was tortured fifteen times. For his bravery and leadership Stockdale was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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Lessons From the Shipwreck of Simonides: Focus on Your Inner Resources, Not Your External Possessions

This past week I’ve been studying up on the origins of Stoicism, a subject I post often about. Ever since I came across the Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday I’ve worked to incorporate the practical daily wisdom of Stoicism into my life. Recently, while reading the wiki of Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, I learned that Zeno encountered Crates, the famous cynic philosopher who became his mentor, by chance. The story goes that Zeno, a wealthy merchant, survived a shipwreck while traveling from Phoenicia to Peiraeus, eventually ending up in Athens. There, while visiting a bookstore, he asked the owner where men like Socrates were to be found. At that moment, Crates happened to be walking by, and as they say, the rest was history.

Ironically I came across the Zeno shipwreck story within a few days of reading about another ancient shipwreck told in the Aesop fable, The Shipwreck of Simonides. While reading an essay on Stoicism by the author who writes under the pen name Quintus Curtius included in a collection titled Thirty Seven: Essays on Life, Wisdom and Masculinity, I was introduced to the fable. I’ve long been fascinated with how human beings passed down important knowledge about their societies and timeless wisdom on human nature and morality through oral traditions like Aesop’s fables. Much like the biblical stories, the fables are the compilation of oral traditions written down and published through various translations in hundred of languages. Like so many of us, I was introduced to Aesop’s fables through a collection of children’s books that were read to me as a child. The fables are now mostly known as children’s stories, but for centuries they existed as oral stories that passed on important life lessons.

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You're Only In a Race Against Yourself and Other Lessons I Learned from the Marines

I had the honor this past weekend of accompanying my son and his high school rugby team as they took part in a team-building exercise with some members of the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in California. The experience we had along and the lessons he and his team learned really resonated, reinforcing many of the critical skills I’ve worked hard to instill in my son. It also reminded me why I love the culture and toughness of rugby so much.

In the end all parents really want the same thing: well-adjusted kids of strong character and determination (grit) that are resilient enough to handle what life throws at them. In the case of my son I believe my role is to turn him into someone who will eventually become a great father, partner and provider. This past Saturday, the Marines, through their outlook on the world, helped reinforce some of the key lessons my wife and I have worked so hard to instill in our kids.

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