The Virtue Signal

Rhonda begins the exploration of the virtue of justice by considering the difference between what is legal and what is just, or morally right, as illustrated in passages from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" and Sophocles' Antigone. The virtue of justice concerns moral excellence in the ways we live with and treat each other, not just compliance with legal codes, and so its standards come prior to legal statutes and encompass them when laws are just. Unjust laws fail to conform to natural and divine order.

Sources:

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” UC Davis L. Rev., 26, 835. https://www.augustana.edu/files/2024-11/Letter_from_a_Birmingham_Jail_MLK_Jr.pdf.

Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Electra. Trans. H. D. F. Kitto. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 1998.

Swallow Prior, Karen. On Reading Well. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2018.

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

In Episode 8, the focus of discussion shifts from honesty as a component of prudence to the foundation of justice in the dignity of our shared humanity across race, gender, political views, and more. Drawing upon sources as various as Hesiod, Cicero, George Washington, and the legendary poem Beowulf, Rhonda argues that respect for our common humanity has formed the root of the virtue of justice across time and geography.

Sources:

Beowulf. Trans. R.  M. Liuzza. Peterborough, ON:Broadview Press, 2000.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. On Obligations. Trans. P. G. Walsh. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2000.

Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days. Trans. M. L. West. NY: Oxford UP, 1988.

Washington,George. “Circular Letter of Farewell to the Army, 8 June, 1783,” in The Founding Fathers: Quotes, Quips, and Speeches. Ed. Gordon Leidner. Napierville, IL: Cumberland House, 2013.

Woodson, Robert L., Sr. Lessons From the Least of These: The Woodson Principles. NY: Bombardier Books, 2020.

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

The last aspect of honesty as a component of prudence that we will consider in this episode is honesty to a higher power or God. Rhonda brings comments by Marcus Aurelius and prayers by Benjamin Franklin and George Washington into the discussion to show that it is this kind of honesty in particular that becomes the measure and the source of all virtuous action, both in individuals and in nations.

Sources:

Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings. Ed. L. Jesse Lemisch. NY: Signet Classic, 1961.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. Trans. Maxwell Staniforth. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1964.

Washington, George. “Circular Letter of Farewell to the Army, 8 June, 1783,” in The Founding Fathers: Quotes, Quips, and Speeches. Ed. Gordon Leidner. Napierville, IL: Cumberland House, 2013.

Woodson, Robert L., Sr. Lessons From the Least of These: The Woodson Principles. NY: Bombardier Books, 2020.

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

Depictions of prudence frequently show the virtue as a woman carrying a mirror and a serpent, signifying knowledge of oneself and the skillful use of knowledge. In this episode, Rhonda takes a close look at moments from the lives of two figures known for their prudence--modern civil rights leader Robert L. Woodson, Sr. and founding father Benjamin Franklin--when each learned something about himself that set the course for acquisition and use of knowledge for the rest of his life.

Sources:

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. On Obligations. Trans. P. G. Walsh.Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2000.

Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings. Ed. L. Jesse Lemisch. NY: Signet Classic, 1961.

Woodson, Robert L., Sr. Lessons From the Least of These: The Woodson Principles. NY: Bombardier Books, 2020.

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

Humanity is only beginning to measure the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on every aspect of modern life. Willy-nilly we are forced by our engagement with the world around us to engage also with AI. Rhonda focuses in this episode on one article from The Chronicle of Higher Education that highlights the need for prudence and honesty in the use of AI: education.

Sources:

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. On Obligations. Trans. P. G. Walsh.Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2000.

Gutkin, Len. “Here Come the Student AI Resisters: The Tech Threatens to Make Young Americans ‘into a Class of Drooling Morons,’” Chronicle of Higher Education, May 26, 2026. https://www.chronicle.com/article/here-come-the-student-ai-resisters?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_18345372_nl_Academe-Today_date_20260601

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

Everyone has heard the story of little George Washington chopping down his father's cherry tree with his hatchet. In this episode, Rhonda takes a deep dive into this story, exploring what its simpllicity reveals about the virtues of honesty, courage, prudence, and...parenting.

Sources:

Mason Locke Weems, The Life of Washington, 1809. https://washingtonpapers.org/resources/articles/weems/

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

We don’t hear people refer to prudence very muchnowadays, but the virtue of prudence is needed perhaps more now than ever.Using examples from The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Odyssey,Rhonda provides an overview of the virtue of prudence and its relationship totruth, and then begins consideration of the component virtues that contributeto the exercise of prudence.

Sources:

Cicero, Marcus Tullius. On Obligations. Trans. P. G. Walsh. Oxford, UK: Oxford UP, 2000.

Homer, The Odyssey of Homer. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. NY: HarperCollins, 1965.

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. NY: Dell, 1958.

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

The trailer provides a quick overview of The Virtue Signal.

Virtue is something that people don’t seem to talk about much anymore, but Benjamin Franklin considered a virtuous citizenry to be necessary for a free society. Many students never learn about the virtues in schools, and yet virtue was the main goal of education from ancient times up into the 20th century. In this episode, McDaniel looks into the relationship between virtue and freedom and provides her rationale for the show.

Sources:

Baughman, Shima. “Character Formation Is More Than a Nostalgic Add-on,” Letter to the Editor, Chronicle of Higher Education, 16 January, 2026. https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/letters/character-formation-is-more-than-a-nostalgic-add-on.

Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings. Ed. L. Jesse Lemisch. NY: Signet Classic, 1961.

Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002.

Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. Trans. William Harris Stahl. NY: Columbia UP, 1952.

Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/entry-id

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.

We commonly use the phrase “virtue signaling” to refer to an outward gesture of “virtue” that is meant to win approval from an audience as opposed to an act arising out of authentic personal integrity. In Episode 1: The Pursuit of Happiness, host Rhonda McDaniel takes a close look at what was meant by the phrase “pursuit of happiness” in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and its connection to virtue for citizens in a self-governing society.

Sources:

Franklin, Benjamin. Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings. Ed. L. Jesse Lemisch. NY: Signet Classic, 1961.

Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/entry-id

Music:

Intro/Outro by Dario Coiro via Pixabay.

Sting by Open Mind Audio via Pixabay.