Though I find stoicism archaic from my limited viewpoint, it appears to be alive and well, a priori; fortiori; and posteriori from that of others. Here is what I mean, in part. As I have asserted before, extremism pervades, who we are and how we behave. If one is not a radical, reckless risk-taker one is not worth associating with. This is mass and pop culture, but not new culture. And so, we underwent the 'no fear' t-shirt phenomenon and other matters, possibly ignored. Should one be willing---even eager---to put one's self in harm's way? Stoicism seems a means of saying, ' oh well, it is all worth it to be in with the in-crowd'. Really? Sure. People fall off mountains taking 'selfies'; fall into pits, while talking on their cell phones. Failure to pay attention demands stoicism. Wait! Are you kidding me? No. i am not. Pay attention.

Is saying 'tomorrow you will die' to your child a virtuous deed? If that will cause life-limiting harm, then no, it is not, and no Stoic would do this. At the same time, instructing your child of momento mori is one of the duties of parenthood, as is fostering their self-expression and prospects. If saying momento mori is a RBGMTOH (really big, giant, monster truckload of harm), then let us assume - Josh Landy is no Stoic because he does not see virtue at issue so much as upset. How, so ever, British of him and what a RBGMTOH that is.

There is a passivity to providence in Marcus Aurelius' world that isn't present in our own. We have the benefit of a more significant measure of the world. If you are reading this, you too likely have access to this knowledge of things. These things have started to instruct us in how to live, turn right in 100 meters, eat this not that, you are a lousy no good and clumsy writer... In the world of Epictetus and then Marcus Aurelius, this was a privilege extended to a paltry few. This period was also when Christians were first thrown to the lions, philosophically if not literally. Social justice was not separated from justice in that world. Nor was social justice present in colonialism. America shook that yoke by imposing it on Africans, then newly come immigrants - and if anti-immigration advocates have their way - the middle and lower classes. In our world, activity is required to tread water. Not engaging ensures tithing your yoke to the knowledge of things that are controlling the human course of action whether you create an account or not.

There is no god but in the measurable, the providence of material learning and the unmeasurable fictions that align to that learning. Not causing upset - reaching for a state of ataraxia - when there is no social justice is a RBGMTOH. It is why Brexit is misplaced; shunting parentless children to Texan religious "charities" is misguided, and fighting wars with "volunteer" soldiers is a mistake.

I don't know if Josh is an Epicurean or a misplaced fictionalist; he would probably say both. But Stoicism got the short stick in this post and Marcus Aurelius the long one in the show. A modern stoic would see the virtue of matching sticks before throwing stones.

You can 'ding' me for this if you wish. But I remember lots of useless information, from a fun, but turbulent time. The 1970s. Lots of us still love posters. Stoicism reminds me of one: two vultures on the branch of a dead tree, eyeing the desert floor below. One says: patience, my ass-I'm gonna KIlL something!
Yep.