Prudence as a Virtue by Justin Arman

There is no virtue more important than prudence, yet this word has been dying since it peeked in usage in 1776. I think the major thing that separates regular people from successful people is this virtue: thinking about short term and long term consequences rather than simply acting on instinct and immediate benefit.

Romantic relationships basically define your life, and most people rush into them because they’re attracted to physical looks and common interests. People don’t take other things into account which are just as important: virtues, lifestyle, skills, intelligence, income potential, political views, religion, and vision for the future. They just fall in love listening to their base instincts: “mate with that person because they have favorable genes.” Elite/wealthier families don’t think like this, because there’s too much at stake, yet, the middle classes are taught that love is all that matters, when in fact, this is not the case at all. There’s so much more to life than love, passion, and attraction; you’ll likely fall in and out of love with your spouse throughout the course of your relationship. And if people do plan on honoring their marriage vows - most break their vows because they have no foresight - they’ll spend the majority of their lives together uglier, fatter, and more wrinkled than they were in their youth; it’s these other things that keep people together once they become the shadows of their youth.

Parenting is the biggest decision you can make, yet most people just find out they’re pregnant and adapt. They “do their best” with the hand they’re dealt. Babies come before parents have the means to take care of them properly, so families typically just get by and most parents aren’t who they imagined they’d be. Families struggle, children get neglected and thrown into subpar environments like daycare and crappy public schools (free daycare), while parents both work their butts off to survive. They take their fatigue out on their children with virtually no quality time. This isn’t because parenting has to be difficult, it’s because they didn’t plan, they just adapted and did what they had to do.

Aside from catastrophic situations, people with bad credit view themselves as victims, when in fact, they couldn’t honor their debt obligations because of a lack of foresight and planning. They signed a deal they didn’t understand because they couldn’t see beyond their immediate need. People with bad credit are only victims of the ignorance that was transmitted to them by their parents and peers, never being taught the skills for managing finances prudently.

Republics are run by politicians who only act to increase their power while pushing the consequences off on others, so prudence is completely absent in legislation. Our entire national debt, and deficit spending habits, are all from a lack of prudence. All prohibitions on on nonviolent behavior are all the same. The FDA and War on Drugs have killed more people than all American military casualties combined.

It’s time to start teaching children and ourselves the virtues of shaping actions in accordance with short term and long term consequences. Don’t condemn your children to victimhood; teach them how to plan and to always have an eye on the future. Teach them about their own mortality, about Death who comes for us all, and about how it’s a parent’s job to lift the next generation and afford them greater opportunities. Teach children that whether they commit to plans or not, Time is the objective judge of the integrity of their commitments. Don’t teach them that Love is all that matters, teach them how their relationships will define their life and their very potential, so show them how to look at the big picture accordingly. Love plays a part; just a part. Give your children the ability to make their own money, and teach them how to save and spend according to budget. Make them pay for the things you want them to value. Teach them how to pay back loans according to plan and how their own personal credit can be ruined if they don’t stick to the plan. Teach them that the greatest duty is to make the things they’re involved with, better off: Always give more than you take. Teach them that greater opportunities are afforded to people with good manners, education, and personality, and that it’s up to them how high they want to rise in this life, but that when they have children, it’s their duty to help them rise higher.

Reposted with permission.