We Need More Good People

Reflection from Head of School Dr. Peter F. Folan | To Be Published in Boston Herald, June 2026

A Roman emperor is an unlikely guide for the TikTok generation.

At a recent graduation ceremony, I found myself turning to Marcus Aurelius. His reflections, written nearly 2,000 years ago, might seem like improbable guidance for a generation raised amid relentless digital distraction. Yet the ancient Stoics are back, and their resurgence is not accidental.

In recent years, writers like Ryan Holiday have reintroduced Stoic philosophy to millions of readers: military leaders, executives, parents, and students searching for steadiness in a culture that feels increasingly unsteady. Stoicism offers something our world rarely does: clarity on how to live.

One of Marcus Aurelius's most enduring lines captures that clarity: “Waste no more time arguing what a good person should be. Be one.”

That sentence may explain why his writings matter so much right now. We are living in an era obsessed with performance. Visibility is often confused with virtue. Public identity can matter more than private character. Social media rewards outrage and spectacle over reflection and wisdom. We are invited to appear successful, informed, compassionate, brave, and interesting. But appearing good is not the same as being good.

Aurelius begins with a liberating truth: we do not control most of what happens around us. We do not control the culture, the opinions of others, the noise, or the judgments people make about us. We do, however, control the character with which we respond. That distinction feels desperately needed today.

Young people are growing up in a culture saturated with anxiety, comparison, and distraction. They are told to achieve more, optimize more, and promote more. But fewer institutions ask the deeper question on which a meaningful life depends: What kind of person are you becoming?

Historically, schools were more than places that transferred information. At their best, great schools formed human beings: young people capable of discernment, courage, self-restraint, compassion, and responsibility for something larger than themselves. Academic excellence mattered, but knowledge was never meant to stand alone.

A healthy society requires citizens capable of moral judgment, civic responsibility, and self-governance. We must educate the mind and the heart.

Knowledge alone will not save us. The future will belong not simply to those who know the most, but to those who use knowledge with judgment, wisdom, and purpose. The Stoics understood this. They believed a meaningful life was built not through status, comfort, or recognition, but through daily habits of integrity.

That philosophy feels almost radical now.

Consider how countercultural these virtues have become: discipline in an impulsive age; humility in a self-promotional age; resilience in a comfort-driven age; responsibility in an age addicted to blame. Yet beneath the noise of modern life, most people still hunger for those things.

In short, we want character.

Marcus Aurelius wrote his reflections while leading an empire through plague, instability, and war. Yet his writings returned again and again to the same challenge: focus less on controlling circumstances and more on mastering yourself. Not your image, not your followers, not applause. Yourself.

The Stoics offer a timeless truth: stop performing goodness and begin practicing it in ordinary life. Be fair when nobody is watching. Tell the truth when it costs something. Listen carefully. Serve without needing recognition. Apologize when you are wrong. Do the right thing even when it brings no applause.

Character is built through small acts repeated over time. These are not glamorous ideals, and they will likely never trend online. But they remain the bedrock of healthy families, schools, communities, and democracies.

The world certainly needs brilliant people, but brilliance without goodness is not enough. We need people capable of wisdom, restraint, compassion, honesty, and courage.

Marcus Aurelius would recognize our challenges immediately: different technologies, same human struggles. And he would likely offer the same advice he did two millennia ago:

Stop arguing about what a good person should be.

Be one.