What does it mean to have character in a world that doesn’t care? Or even worse: platforms and incentivizes a LACK of character? 

If anyone should know, it’s a retired four-star General whose career ended in resignation.

In this episode, Russell talks with General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and author of On Character: Choices That Define a Life. They discuss the Rolling Stone article that ended McChrystal’s military career, why his wife’s single-word reaction changed the trajectory of his life, and how character is shaped over decades by family, mentors, mistakes, and moral decisions under pressure. 

Along the way, McChrystal shares his thoughts on why the U.S. needs a mandatory service year as a way to heal divisions, how leadership choices prevented a hostile environment toward Islam in the United States, and his process for making difficult decisions of national importance. Plus, hear a retired four-star general give his take on the tensions in the Middle East and what should be done to ease them.

You don’t need to be weighing options of national security to appreciate this conversation — If you’re weary of living in an era that excuses a lack of integrity and honor in its leadership, this conversation may give you hope that it’s possible to bring those back.

Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include:

On Character: Choices That Define a Life by Stanley McChrystal

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Carl Sandburg’s six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln

Listener question: Where are all the mature single Christian men?

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