Gentleman, don't quit, don't surrender!
Say no to PMO!
Say no to relapsing!
Lets quit fapping our lives away like little boys!
Lets become men!
I grab them all from the instant before they are each killed. After the convention, they are taken to the instant I took them from before. During the convention, all men are allowed to debate and speak as if they were elected to the convention from their respective states. In order to defend their additions to the constitution, they are allowed to directly speak to the men in power of the states they must convince, who are then magically compelled to never speak of what happened. Everyone except myself are under the same compulsion to never speak of this to anyone who doesn't already know.
What is added to the constitution? What is removed? What is changed but not exactly added or removed?
I know that several American presidents were students of Stoicism, if not actual Stoics. I recently finished reading Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard, the story of the assassination of Garfield. While it does not mention any specific admiration of the Stoics or adherence to the philosophy by Garfield, it does paint a picture of a man who was at least "small s" stoic, if not a "capital s" Stoic. The grace and poise with which he handled all kinds of adversity throughout his life, including being struck down by a bullet fired by a madman just as he had barely begun to get comfortable in a position (the presidency) he never wanted in the first place is textbook Stoicism.
Each chapter is prefaced by a quote from Garfield, many of which echo the sentiments of Marcus, Seneca and Epictetus. A couple of examples:
On revenge: "We should do nothing for revenge. ...Nothing for the past."
On doing the right thing: "I would rather be beaten in Right than succeed in Wrong."
I was pleased to learn more about this heretofore obscure (to me, at least) president. He has become another source of inspiration to me, and I think reading his story will inspire others as well. I would recommend this book to students of history or of Stoicism.
Is the best president ever
On 02 July 1881, Charles J. Guiteau fatally shot the president at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington D.C. The president didn’t die immediately, lingering on ‘till 19 September to die of his wounds. So this leads to my question in the title.
Is coming for you, do do do. Coming for you. that's painful.
"I'm going to start a diary. Hello, diary. How are you doing? I'm doing fine, a lot better than yesterday. If I could get my hands on some wind chimes I would feel a ton better. But alas, it may not be my destiny to find them half off in the clearance section. I shall look more each day as it draws closer. Until then, I shall look. -James Garfield"
“Slowly our adventure draws on. I truly cannot express the terror my comrades and I face after we embarked on our journey. We have seen long days where the sun beat down on our shimmering heads, refusing to set. We have seen horrible beasts that rise to hundreds of feet, long teeth that are sharper than old ma’s rusty spoon, and eyes so thick they rival that of the tension I felt when the Kool Aid Man started dating my mother. The casualties have been great as my men seem to drop like flies. If only I was given a better army to lead, one that would truly look up to my heroism and courage. But alas, I am but a laughing stock between my men. While it has been long since I started this diary only being on the second passage, I have forgotten many times to write in this book. But I have decided that time shall not be a factor that can stop me, so I have come to the conclusion that I will write of the deadly encounters we have faced, even if they happened a long time ago.
The first one, the most horrid beast I could imagine... it’s name was and still remains unknown... it had curvy legs that would drop kick all those who saw it, it had the muscle of one thousand men combined, it’s four arms would grasp at anything it could get and would rip it to shreds, and it’s face was that of a fish. I’ve never seen such terror in my life all this for what? I don’t know if I’ll ever get to my destination, I don’t even know what more lies behind the door. Every time I see that creature, it makes me want to retch, and sometimes I can’t hold it back and end up doing so. It always walks up to me and comforts me when I do so. The soothing rub on my back is nice, but not coming from that thing, that monster. It used to be so aggressive and blood thirsty but it’s been tamed down to be more humane, and I hate it.
The second terror we ever encountered, it had a body type of a ball, with skinny arms and legs, it would stop yelling about “the spoon”. I fear for my life. It’s only getting worse, every time I write a word it gets louder and louder. I shall continue, but my ears are starting to bleed. It’s color was that of rust, and its eyes were a piercing red. I remember what it told me when we captured it and locked it in a containment cell that is also portable because of convenience. It told me about the lost treasures, I don’t know what the hell it meant. I feel like it might have been flirting with me but my men tell me that there’s actually a lost artifact somewhere in the rui
... keep reading on reddit ➡
James Garfield's tomb features both his and his wife's casketed remains laying on platforms inside. Question: Wouldn't the tomb have smelled of decomposition for years after their interment (James, 1881. Lucretia, 1918)? I wonder if they are both well preserved?
