| The right side doesn't just win because they're right. That's the sad lesson of history. Think of the Stoic Opposition, outmatched against the tyranny of multiple Caesars. In fact, that itself was a battle that went back to the original Caesar, whom Cato battled for years. To win—to fight for that Stoic virtue of justice—is a real struggle. It's one that doesn't always come out the way that we want it to. But when it does, when good wins out over evil, it was never by chance. It's because good drew on those other Stoic virtues. They had the courage to be brave (Courage is Calling). They had the discipline to be, well, disciplined (Discipline is Destiny). They had the wisdom to be strategic and smart (book in the works!) We've talked before here about the discipline of the Civil Rights movement. These men and women didn't just march in the streets haphazardly. It was done with military precision (there's a great book about this by Tom Ricks called Waging a Good War, which he discussed on the Daily Stoic podcast). As William Bradford Huie also writes in his book Three Lives for Mississippi, civil rights activists were trained extensively in "discipline, good conduct and nonviolence." They understood they would be cursed, taunted, struck by their opponents and that the natural reaction would be to respond. They had to train this impulse out of themselves. He explains that they trained by playing "a game called Redneck-and-N****r. They would choose one group to be Rednecks, the other would be N*****s. Then the N*****s would try to see how long they could remain 'good-natured and smiling; while the Rednecks jostled them and called them 'black-assed coons.'" When you watch videos of these protestors endure incredible punishment in order to demonstrate their humanity (their strategy to exploit modern media in the North), know that it was a result of this training. It was no accident. Discipline is not something you naturally are. It's the result of training, of hard work. Cato drew on his training when the crowd pelted him with brickbats and jeers. Rutilius Rufus (whose story we tell in Lives of the Stoics) drew on his training as he responded to his cruel exile with poise and dignity. The Stoics—just like activists—didn't always win but they showed themselves always as worthy of winning. They showed themselves to be the most disciplined side. They trained themselves in virtue. So must we, for whatever battles and causes we will someday fight for. | 
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