How To Be Happy In A World That’s Falling Apart | Ep. 58

Summary

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Podcast Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: How To Be Happy In A World That’s Falling Apart | Ep. 58
Date: September 22, 2025
Host: David Rutherford (subbing for Clay & Buck), with Co-Host/Guest Jordan
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

This episode delves into "the pursuit of happiness" during volatile times, exploring resilience, virtue, and meaning against a backdrop of societal anxiety. David Rutherford and guest Jordan unpack why Americans seem increasingly unhappy, referencing historical philosophy and America’s founding ideals, and offering a path toward genuine contentment centered on personal virtue instead of material success or emotional avoidance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Current Malaise in American Society

[03:12] – [09:46]

• David describes a sense of heaviness pervading American society.
• Observes signs of malaise in daily life, social media, and conversations with his daughters.
• "There's a heaviness in every aspect. I hear the heaviness in my children, right? My four daughters, all teenage girls." (David Rutherford, 07:53)
• Pinpoints a yearning for relief and order—an escape from “impending weight of destruction.”

2. Escaping the News Cycle: The Upside and Downside

[09:46] – [13:53]

• Acknowledges those who tune out news and social media tend to feel happier in the short term.
• But cautions: “You are protecting your mental health, but you're ignoring the reality of a societal situation that ... can be catastrophic.” (David, 11:30)
• Suggests that disengagement can numb but may undermine civic responsibility and collective well-being.

3. The Pursuit of Happiness in America’s DNA

[13:54] – [19:50]

• Explores the “pursuit of happiness” as a founding principle.
• Outlines its insertion in the Declaration of Independence as a deliberate, revolutionary idea—rooted in fleeing tyranny and seeking self-determination.
• Emphasizes: “It was the pursuit of happiness—it wasn’t the guarantee of happiness. Right. Happiness is one of the core eight emotions ... but you have to recognize, like all emotions, it's fleeting.” (David, 19:50)

4. Philosophical Origins—From Locke to Jefferson to Virtue

[22:43] – [32:09]

• Reviews influences: John Locke (“life, liberty, and estate/property”), George Mason, the Enlightenment, and how Jefferson redefined happiness in philosophical—not material—terms.
• Happiness, originally, is “the practice of virtue in harmony with natural laws.” (David, summarizing Lord Kames, 27:11)
• Virtue emerges as the core: “What aspect of my life am I engaging in day in and day out that's virtuous?” (David, 28:48)

5. What Are Virtues?

[32:10] – [34:27]

• David prompts Jordan and listeners to list virtues; Jordan responds with “courage, honesty, discipline” ([32:09]–[32:18]).
• David recites a longer list: “Courage, wisdom, justice, temperance, compassion, honesty, humility, patience, kindness, integrity, gratitude, forgiveness ...” ([32:21])
• Encourages listeners to consider whether virtues play an active role in their daily lives, in raising children, and in relationships.

6. Historical Context—Cultures Rise and Fall on Virtue

[34:27] – [42:49]

• Traces human societies’ dependence on core shared virtues; when societies deviate, chaos and decline follow.
• Draws on classical thinkers: Aristotle’s eudaimonia (well-being via virtue), Stoicism, Cicero (happiness through wisdom and tranquility).

7. Cicero’s Guide to Happiness: Virtue and Wisdom over Pleasure

[46:28] – [57:52]

• Summarizes Cicero’s “Tusculan Disputations,” which equate happiness to mastering virtue and wisdom, not circumstances.
• Five key obstacles to happiness, per Cicero (David’s breakdown):
  • Overcoming fear of death: “Death is not an evil. ... Fear of death disrupts tranquility. Wisdom dispels this fear, enabling a calm life focused on virtue.” ([46:28]–[50:54])
  • Enduring pain: Pain is “magnified by the mind’s weakness.” Integrate “positive pain” into your life to build strength. ([50:54])
  • Dealing with grief and emotional distress: Grief often arises from false beliefs about external goods. Rational reflection helps overcome it. ([52:25])
  • Managing passions (anger, desire, fear): “There’s no such thing as a safe space.” (David, 54:26) Wisdom and controlling passions is key.
  • Virtue alone is sufficient for happiness: “Virtue ... is the sole good ensuring happiness even in adversity.” ([57:52])
• Highlights the dangers of modern society’s drift towards materialism and emotional protectionism.

8. Jefferson’s Substitution: Property vs. Happiness

[58:09] – [63:12]

• Contrasts Locke’s “estate”/property with Jefferson’s “happiness”—a more inclusive, upward-aimed aspiration.
• Discusses the potential implications for issues like slavery and social inclusion.

9. Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues: Blueprint for Character

[63:14] – [65:33]

• David lists Franklin’s classic virtues—temperance, silence, order, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, humility—with modern observations.
• Example: “I guess they've thrown frugality out the window. And what's going to happen as a result? Chaos.” (David, 63:04)

10. Modern Crisis: Virtues Under Attack

[65:34] – [68:24]

• Argues both political parties have abandoned virtue for self-interest.
• Laments erosion of family values, government overreach, and loss of foundational ideals.

11. Call to Action—Virtue Challenge

[68:24] – [69:34]

• Suggests a practical exercise: pick one or two virtues and focus on them for a period; a “Virtue Challenge” will launch from the Frog Logic Institute.
• Encourages replacing fixation on material or fleeting emotional pleasure with intentional pursuit of virtue for lasting happiness and meaning.
• “There's a revolution in your heart that needs to take place in your pursuit of your faith and your belief systems and what this great country represents.” (David, 69:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On societal heaviness:
  "There's a heaviness in every aspect. I hear the heaviness in my children ... I hear it in friends and peers and people I know. Obviously we see it on the Internet in multiple different capacities at every different age group." – David Rutherford, [07:53]
• On opting out of negativity:
  "I don’t watch the news at all and I’m not on social media. ... I feel more happy and to a certain degree I ... can acknowledge, wow, that’s a legitimate process ... But ... you’re ignoring the reality of a societal situation that ... can be catastrophic." – David Rutherford, [09:54 & 11:30]
• On America’s founding idea:
  "It was the pursuit of happiness—it wasn’t the guarantee of happiness." – David Rutherford, [19:50]
• On what makes us happy:
  "Having a certain level of material things, having a particular financial health ... That's what it is. But what Thomas Jefferson was trying to encapsulate ... was much more sophisticated ..." – David Rutherford, [22:43]
• On the centrality of virtue:
  "What aspect of my life am I engaging in day in and day out that's virtuous?" – David Rutherford, [28:48]
• On pain and the mind:
  "Pain is a body sensation, but its perception is magnified by the mind's weakness." – David Rutherford, [50:54]
• On modern culture & emotions:
  “There’s no such thing as a safe space, right? There’s no space, safe space in your own mind. The contemplation of your meaning or value ... that’s pressure that can cause emotional distress if you don’t have something to aim at.” – David Rutherford, [54:26]
• On the essential role of virtue:
  “Virtue alone is sufficient for a happy life.” – Paraphrasing Cicero, [57:52]
• On Franklin's legacy:
  "I guess they've thrown frugality out the window. And what's going to happen as a result? Chaos." – David Rutherford, [63:04]
• Call to action:
  “Pick two or three or one a month ... and focus on those virtues. ... There's a revolution in your heart ... in your pursuit of your faith and your belief systems and what this great country represents.” – David Rutherford, [69:15]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------|:-------------:| | Setting the theme, America’s melancholy | 03:12 – 09:46 | | Opting out of news—costs and benefits | 09:46 – 13:53 | | The pursuit of happiness: meaning & history | 13:54 – 19:50 | | Origins: Locke, Jefferson, virtue | 22:43 – 32:09 | | Defining/Listing virtues | 32:10 – 34:27 | | Societal success/failure & virtue | 34:27 – 42:49 | | Cicero and happiness through virtue | 46:28 – 57:52 | | Property vs. happiness, Jefferson’s intent | 58:09 – 63:12 | | Franklin’s virtues & modern implications | 63:14 – 65:33 | | Political & cultural crisis | 65:34 – 68:24 | | Virtue Challenge (call to action) | 68:24 – 69:34 |

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Summary Takeaways

• Happiness is not a guarantee or an escape from hardship, but a pursuit grounded in practicing virtues such as courage, honesty, discipline, compassion, and wisdom.
• Material comforts and avoiding negativity can numb present anxieties, but true contentment and order arise from intentional, virtuous living—even (especially) in difficult times.
• America’s founding promise—the pursuit of happiness—is revolutionary, rooted in philosophical wisdom, and meant to inspire citizens to become better individuals, not just acquire more things.
• Listeners are challenged to reclaim old-school virtue: pick a virtue to practice, focus on it, and rediscover the tranquility and meaning that emerges from growth, challenge, and service.

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Transcript

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[David Rutherford]

Is happiness just an illusion or is there something we can actually do about it? Today on the David Rutherford Show. Hello, friends. I am extremely fired up about this episode because as usual on my journey on the road this week, I have had a considerable amount of time to contemplate why America is so bummed out right now. And if you spend as much time as I do on X, on substack, on Instagram, on YouTube as a result of me trying to be aware of what the mentality or the consciousness of our society, where it's at you, it's pretty apparent that right now people are pretty bummed out. Now, before we get into this, I just want to say thank you so much for all your support. You've been incredible. We just, we love the overwhelming outreach and support we're getting all over the place. Please, like subscribe and share the show. It makes huge impact for us in the algorithm and our algorithm. The algorithm is finally starting to pick us up. There's one clip that we have on Instagram that's gone over 400,000 views. That's because you all are sharing it. You're commenting on it, you're liking it. If you could do that for us on all the different platforms, YouTube, X, all the places that were offering our content and the show on X. We are the show is at D. Rutherford show on Instagram. It's at David RUTHERFORD show on YouTube. It's David the David Rutherford show. Or you can follow me at Team Frog Logic on all on everything. We still Jordan, we still got to get my YouTube channel back up and going, don't we? We got to figure that one out. If, if you, if you know anybody at YouTube or anything, have them reach out and help us because for the life of me, I cannot find the credentials that allow me to get back into my YouTube CH channel after they throttled me back in 2020. But I personal YouTube. The show is up and running. It's going, but yours is in jail. But mine's in jail still. I think, I don't know, maybe they, they just, what they'll say is you've lost your, your password. And I was like, oh my God, give me a break. Anyways, we really appreciate it. If you want to sign up for the newsletter and get our weekly newsletter that has all different kinds of things in it, go to davidrutherford.com you can sign up for the newsletter there. We've got a pretty robust group coming. We're gon putting some more articles in there. Also, if you're interested in any of the motivational topics or ideas that I've been teaching for the last 30 years, the ones that I share around the country for all the various organizations that I speak with, most particularly my, the asset management firm that I work with, go check those out because I teach three different courses. You can get them online for $200 each. One is learning to embrace your fears. The second is learning to forge your confidence. And the third is learning to live a team life. Those courses are available, they're fantastic. They're journal based as well as some activity, but we just think they would make a huge impact for you. Also sign up for my new upcoming fictional book called the Poet Warrior or go to our merchandise page on David Rutherford.com and I have a self help book about self confidence. And then I sell two kids book one which is a fitness book with my cartoon character Doc Frog. The other is a anti bully operation book with Doc and four of his buddies that, you know, create up the anti bully brigade. Okay. That's all I gotta say about that. The pursuit of happiness. As I said before, when I'm in the airport, I'm always sitting there kind of contemplating what my next show is going to be. And early this week, when I took off early in the morning on Tuesday to head out to Salt Lake City, I just noticed not a malaise, but there's a heaviness across society right now. There's a heaviness in every aspect. I hear the heaviness in my children, right? My four daughters, all teenage girls. So I hear it out of high schools. I hear it in friends and peers and people I know. Obviously we see it on the Internet in multiple different capacities at every different age group. Most especially, I think this has been punctuated by Charlie Kirk's assassination. But this is not just the beginning of this cultural war that's been taking place for I mean you can argue as it's always underpinned to society. There's always some type of ambitious ideology or pathocracy that em talked about that's, that's trying to wage war against the other intrinsic structures of society. Right. These hierarchical pillars that separate different groups within the overall group itself.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

And I think, you know, those there's a, and also an idea that's constant is I think people are saying to the self, when are we going to have some relief? When are we going to have some, that ah, moment where you can wake up and you can go PT out in your garage or go to the gym early, get back, feed your kids or feed yourself and then go to work. And on the way to work, you're just listening to something that's making you laugh. There's no heaviness into work and work is doing great. The economy's cranking, so your, your job is viable. Your, your, your organization you work for is increasing and generating more revenue.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

And there's, you know, the, the world itself seems to be in a stable position, man, that, that's what I think. There's this underlying desire that people are looking for right now. They want some semblance of, of order or maybe not. It's not ordered per se as much as it is that, oh, we're not on the precipice of some catastrophic civil war, World War 3, financial collapse, whatever it might be. We can have a place or a space and time which most people say, you know, from 1992 to 2000, that time where we kind of can exhale and just focus on the betterment of ourselves and our communities and our families and our friends and we don't have this impending weight of, of destruction that surrounds us. And you know, there's a group of people out there that always seem to, I don't know if it's challenged me as much. It is amazed me when these are the people that are like, oh, I don't watch the news at all and I'm not on social media. I don't watch the news. And you know what? I'm better for it. I live a more blissful life. I don't have this impending doom that surrounds me all the time. And I just, I'm better, I feel better about my life and everything's just, it's easier. I feel more happy. And to a certain degree I, I, maybe it's not admire, but I certainly can acknowledge, wow, that's a legitimate process or approach to living your life where you can have some separation from the turmoil or the dystopic Future that's, you know, right. Impending us outside your door is, you know, is tomorrow morning. And my outlook for that is yes, you are protecting your mental health, but there's another aspect of it is that you're, you're ignoring the reality of, of a societal situation that if it continues to ascend and build and grow or infect or metastasize or, or cannibalize the consciousness or the conscious state of, of the world, the outcomes of that, as we've already seen in our past, can be catastrophic. And I think that's probably an understatement which, which prevents happiness in just about every way, shape or form. And I think, you know, there's a reason why American culture has absolutely integrated this quest or this pursuit of happiness. I think it's built into American society. Why? Because it's part of our foundation, right? It's part of the way. It's part of the central idea that America was built upon by our founding fathers and by those who actually exited and left the tyranny of England in the 1600s. They were seeking out a space of existence that could, they could be segregated from that tyranny, that consummate impending pressure of overreach or, or the imposition of, of a particular way of thinking or believing.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Or the, the overreach of a government's control in terms of taxation or determining what you could own versus not own, what is the government's or what do you lease all of those components which, which drove those pilgrims out of England. I think that's a part of, of our foundational essence in, in America. I realize there are many choices when it comes to who you choose for your cell phone service. And there are new ones popping up all over the place all of the time. But here's the deal. There's only one that boldly stands in the gap for every American that believes freedom is worth fighting for. And I know that because I've done it myself. And that's Patriot Mobile. For more than 12 years, Patriot Mobile has been on the front lines fighting our God given rights and freedoms while also providing exceptional nationwide, nationwide cell phone service with access to all three of the main networks. Don't take my word for it. Ask the hundreds of thousands of Americans who've made the switch and are now supporting causes they believe in simply by joining Patriot Mobile. Listen up. I'm here to tell you that switching is easier than ever. Activate in minutes from the comforts of your own own home. You can keep your number, you can keep your phone or you can actually upgrade. Patriot Mobile's all U S based support team is standing by to take care of you. Simply call 972 Patriot today or go to patriotmobile.com forward/rutherford. Use promo code RUTHERFORD. That's R U for a free month of service. You heard that correct folks. For a free month just type in my name Rutherford. That's patriotmobile.com Rutherford or simply call 972-patriot. Make the switch today. God bless America.

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[David Rutherford]

Come on.

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[David Rutherford]

And you know, obviously everybody recognizes that the Declaration of Independence is, is the, the defining document that, that generated an idea. The, the challenge I believe now is that many of, of you have either consciously or subconsciously detached yourself from that reference point that it was the pursuit of happiness, it wasn't the guarantee of happiness. Right. Happiness is one of the core eight emotions, right? It's in there joy, right. And, and, and so, but you have to recognize, like all emotions, it's fleeting. As quick as it comes, it can go. And, and in particular if you allow the external world to govern your interpretation or perception of happiness itself. So how do we begin to contextualize that from a historical perspective that roots us back in when it actually meant what the author Thomas Jefferson actually meant when he scribed that very famous phrase. Now let's go back to the original, which was part of Thomas Jefferson's right, Declaration of Independence that he kind of co authored, if you will. He was the found the focused offer in it, but did have help from John Adams and others. But it was this iconic sentence that really encapsulates the idea of what the American Revolution more so the culture of an American society was built upon. And that's. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now you gotta recognize that the conclusion of that was, was, was not kind of haphazard, right? It was an intent, it was intentional. Every single word was chosen with specific intentions. And what you need to understand is that the intention was not shallow in its aspiration, but it, it had with it a depth of thinking. Through Thomas Jefferson, through John Adams that was much more tangible or viable. Maybe that's not the right word. Much more intentional then I think how many of us imagine the phrase itself to mean today, right? The pursuit of happiness. What makes us happy today?

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Having a certain level of material things, having a particular financial health, having an opportunity that kind of generates a sense of meaning, whether it's a job or your family, a community.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

These things. That's what it is. But what Thomas Jefferson was trying to encapsulate in this statement was much more sophisticated than I think most people allow themselves to realize.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

This was a deliberate choice that was rooted in Enlightenment philosophy, colonial political thought in the specific context of the American Revolution itself. All right, now that, that's the thing that, that I think becomes a little bit problematic intellectually or emotionally for people because this document and that statement as, as what is. What are our rights is. Is directly correlated to that. Our right are these inalienable rights. But guess what? We're willing to go toe to toe with the greatest empire arguably in human history. The. The English empire.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right, the.

[David Rutherford]

The monarchy of. Of England. Remember that back then the sun never set on the English empire because of its naval fleet and its colonial ability to overwhelm certain areas around the world that had huge natural resources and. And trade opportunities. So the, the context of the pursuit is ha. Of happiness is built upon the essence of revolution itself. So as you begin to listen to my explanation of what this actually means, think about this stuff that I'm telling you. Allow it to sink in. As you're listening to me in your car right now. As you're listening to me while you work out, right. This pursuit of happiness is contextualized by the American Revolution itself. All right, now the origins of the phrase are quite Interesting, right? When you think about the pursuit of happiness in quotations, you know, it traced back to the confluence of intellectual traditions that shaped our founding father's worldview, right? A primary influence at this time of Jefferson was John locke, right? Whose 1869, the second treaty of government outlined unalienable rights as life, liberty and estate or property, right? And that was the ability to own your own shit, right? And that the government or the aristocracy of the imperial man, once you purchased it or conquered it, man, that was yours and nobody was going to take it for you. And within that sense of ownership, where you could build a structure that gave you enclosure and you could raise a family and carve out in the wilderness, which they literally did, a place for you to just exist and pursue this happiness, right? So John Locke was, was huge and a big time admirer of Locke. Jefferson was big time and adapted this triad. But here's the kicker. What did he substitute? He got rid of the estate or the essence, the pursuit of estate or property, and he put in the pursuit of happiness for property. Now, you know this phrase, this, I. This overall general idea was more closely aligned with George Mason's Virginia Declaration of rights adapted on June 12th instead of July 4th, right? Weeks before Jefferson's draft. And then in his, he said, quote, certain inherent rights, namely the enjoyment of life, liberty and with the means of acquiring and possessing property and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety, end quote. So it's interesting, he added, Mason added the other thing, right? He recognized that the, the initial components and, and these go back to enlightenment, thinking on what enables the human soul to have that sensation of, of strength or conviction or protection of their state of mind, right? Because that's what all this is. It's like this is what gives you proper mental health. And when you look at what the mental health crisis of what's going on in America, what are the fundamental ideas, right? Physical health has been attacked through over prescription of drugs and pharmaceuticals. The impact of our food, right? Keeping young K encapsulated indoors for eight hours a day, infecting them with a particular desire that the only sense of meaning they're going to have is if they go work for some mega corporation, right? That whole thing. So all these things are an affront, right, to what we're doing now or implementing now into our kids and in ourselves was, was kind of counterintuitive to what these, these men were talking about. And so Mason included that right now. Well, when Jefferson was working on the Declaration in Philadelphia, he had access to all these thoughts. He's contemplating. He's not sitting there in some poetic kind of stream of consciousness state. He's thinking about each word and why it's important and where it comes from him philosophically. Now, Jackson also drew from a ton beyond Locke and Mason and from Scottish Enlightenment figures like Francis Hutchinson, David Hume, Henry Home or otherwise known as Lord Kames and Adam Smith, who all discuss happiness. Here it is as a moral pursuit involving virtue and reason. Now, you know what's interesting is Lord Kames writings on moral philosophy influenced Jefferson to frame happiness as the practice of virtue in harmony with natural laws. Right, the practice of virtue. So the idea then immediately should be, what comes to the forefront of your consciousness while you listen is what? How do I practice virtue? Or even more so, what. What, what are virtues to me? Like, what aspect of my life am I engaging in day in and day out? That's virtuous, right? And then is that practice of virtue harmonious with what the natural environment offers me? You know, and I don't think people are looking at it like that. We've, whatever the powers that be have stripped us in our consciousness, our philosophical pursuit away from the correlation of virtue and our integration into the natural environments, right? Now, what is virtue? Virtue is a moral quality or trait considered to be good or desirable, reflecting ethical excellence and righteousness. It often involves attributes like honesty, courage, compassion, or justice which guide actions towards the greater good. In philosophy, virtues are habits or dispositions that enable a person to live a morally good life, often balancing extremes. Example, Aristotle's golden mean. Different cultures and systems emphasize specific virtues, like the cordial virtues, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, or in Western thought or Confucian virtues like benevolence or propriety. All right, so when I put in, you know, hey, Grok, give me a list of all the virtues. This is what it pumped out, right? And I want you in your mind. Let's take 30 seconds right now in your head to think of as many virtues as you can, right? While you're sitting there, you got this in your head. I'm gonna give you 30 seconds to think about it all. Good God, I hated that. All right, think about it. Don't just think, wait for me to say it. Actually come up with at least three or four virtues and see how many of them you come up with that. That meet this list. All right, ten more seconds. Five, four, three, two, one. All right, here we go. Jordy, go ahead, give me your list. Courage. Wait, did you look it up? Did you type it in? Why? I was doing That I saw your little fingers moving over there. I was not doing that now. Okay. Okay, good. Then go for it. Let me hear what you came up with. All right, go. I would say first and foremost, it'd be courage.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Yep.

[David Rutherford]

Honesty.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

All right.

[David Rutherford]

Discipline.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Oh, love it. Good.

[David Rutherford]

Those are. That's a good, good place to start. That's good.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

All right.

[David Rutherford]

I dig it. That's good. Good job. That's. Those are good ones. All right, here we go. You ready? Courage, wisdom, justice, temperance, compassion, honesty, humility, patience, kindness, integrity, gratitude, forgiveness. Forgiveness, Prudence. It is. Prudence, charity, hope, fortitude, loyalty, respect, diligence, chastity, generosity, peacefulness, and sincerity. All right. How often are you thinking about one of those concepts in depth? How often are you teaching one of your children those concepts on how to. How to manage their behaviors so they're pursuing a particular skill set or idea or relationship with. With generosity integrated into that, with peacefulness integrated into that, with gratitude, forgiveness, kindness, hope integrated into that pursuit of those activities.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Because that's what it is. You. You have these things in our lives that give us fulfillment, educating ourselves, engagement with our peers and friends, engagement with our family members. Right? The intimacies in those relationships, the adventure that's out in front of us, Right? Because that's a huge part of that pursuit.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

The pursuit of happ. This should include the adventure of going to experience new endeavors. But how are you going to do it? What's the formula? What's the structure of your belief systems that I talked about before? Well, these are the words that you should use to. To formula, to formulate this. These intentions in your life.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Now, this list covers virtues from various traditions, including, you know, those classical cardinal, right, Christian theological virtues, other global ethical systems, right. A wide variety. These are things that. The reality is, these are the things that human beings have been fortifying throughout human history, right from that first moment of that first. What is it, that revelatory awakening of human consciousness, whenever that took place, whether it was a singular act. Like, I believe that at one point. Point there was this immaculate conception of consciousness within a particular being that then began to spread through the evolution of that particular species, Homo sapiens, and. Or whatever came before that, right? And perhaps maybe the consciousness was different in those other groups. I mean, obviously some races and groups out there have Neo. What is it, Neanderthal DNA in them and all that stuff. But there's a moment, obviously, that took place that was the crossover where all of a sudden, like, you're like, oh, whoa, I'm aware I'm self conscious that I, I can think about thinking, right? That I can plan out, I can concoct a plan that keeps me alive from the natural realities of the world, right? Those things that want to kill me, poison me, the environmental effects that want to erase me, you know, all of these external things. Now what I can do is I. There's someone else, there's another being that has that capacity for consciousness too. We can figure out how to interact through whatever means it is to formulate a plan together which exponentially increases our ability to survive and thrive, right? So that's how long this is. Because what, what happens? Each iteration of that behavioral component, those, those, those tied together actions generates what over time, the more we do things that are iterable for the benefit of our survival, those generate what, a virtue, right? Out of that iterable behavior comes something that we hold true. And that's a virtue, that's one of these virtues. So then what we can do is if we get our tribe, culture, subculture, societies to all buy in to those iterable virtues, now we have a system that we can emerge to another level and another level and another level. And what we've seen throughout history or recorded history have is that when these societies begin to move away from these core virtues that are integrated it into pretty much every existing society or civilization throughout history, which keeps them going. When we move away from those core virtues and implement another line of virtues or moral relativism that the individual themselves constructs whatever their virtuous nature is. You know, there's a whole other side of that which is detrimental towards the continued reciprocal game that's being played. That, oh, if I do it, you'll do it. If you. We do it together, we, we survive and thrive. But there's that one person who comes in and says, now I'm not playing a game. I want what I want, I get what I get. I desire what I desire. I want it at any time. To hell with you. And that breaks up the system. It causes the chaos which then degrades into violence, evil, destruction, the whole thing. Thing, right? So when you start to think about the creation of virtue, right, it really is. This goes back to classical antiquity. And when you look at the great thinkers of our time, right? You had Aristotle with his initial concept of eudaimonia, right? Or eudaimonia, which is human flourishing through virtuous living, right? And so that's pretty far back, man. I mean that's, that's, that's old, right? Other people like Cicero, epic, epic, 80s, epic, 80s. Marcus Aurelius was his Stoicism, right? And it's all this lifelong quest for self improvement and ethical conduct rather than mere pleasure. And I think what's happened is that our society, modern society, as things have gotten easier, right, with supermarkets and Amazon and liquor stores around the corner and whatever else, you need to anesthetize yourself from the reality of those who seek ultimate control of your own sovereignty. As you ignore that, that pursuit of happiness becomes almost a numbing effect. You're seeking to numb yourself from the reality that this is a consummate fight, the pursuit of happiness, it's revolutionary in nature. So one of the guys that I think really had the most impact as I was doing research on this was if you looked at who Jefferson was deeply into in the 1770s and that was a person named Cicero, an ancient philosopher. And he wrote this one, these series of books called the Tusculuan Disposition or disputations, which links happiness to wisdom and tranquility. All right, wisdom and tranquility. So we've seen happiness connected to the pursuit of living a virtuous life. Now Cicero talks about wisdom and tranquility. So think about what it takes to become wise. Life experience, adventure, multiple failures, relationships, understanding what's good and bad in a relationship. And then through that exposition or that exploration at the end result of that arduous path, that path of righteousness or salvation, we can find some momentary tranquility that we think we understand the world around us through the lens of these virtues. And that this exercise or this ambition or this combat against mere pleasure, that's what begins to give us, ah, now I have a tranquility about my effort right now. When you look at these, the overview of these five books, and I'll go through this pretty quickly, right? What the purpose of these books was. Cicero was aiming to provide practical philosophy for Romans synthesized using Greek through primarily Stoic and Epicurean and peripatetic influences to address emotional distress and guide readers towards virtuous and a tranquil life. Now this dialogue, pretty much he began this in 45 BCE, right? So that's what I want you to really think about, that human beings have been thinking about what this means, the pursuit of happiness, for thousands of years. And it's not like, you know, where we have deep thought is you take a 20 minute break while you're on the from scrolling and you, you hear, you see something in depth by someone, you follow and you sit back and you're like, oh wow, that's heavy, right? And then 20 minutes later you're back in to the monotony of of the the material pursuit of happiness. These people would sit around for years. I mean how many years did they cart go into the woods? 10 years? That dude tried to figure out his philosophical ideation, right?

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[David Rutherford]

So when you think about, you know, this, you know, and these are dialogues between Cicero and a narrator, narrator, interlocutor, often unnamed in a Socratic style that he did in his Tusculan Village villa. All right, the core thesis in this is happiness demands on inner virtue and wisdom, not external circumstances. And tranquility is achieved by mastering emotions and fear through reason. All right, book number one, and this is fascinating on the contempt, on the contempt of death, right? And that's overcoming the fear of death to achieve tranquility. Now this was really what set me forth in, in my quest to become a Navy SEAL and keep carrying a gun was that I had this bizarre, unrealistic fear of death, right? I was afraid of it. Like why? And why was I afraid of it? I think partially because in my childhood I hadn't experienced any hardship or real trauma or toughness. Was, I mean, I grew up in Boca Raton. I, my parent, my dad was an attorney. I, you know, went to great schools. I didn't have any worries at all. And so I, I moved into this place of pleasure, if you will, intellectually and didn't to be Challenged. But that didn't get me to. Got me to a point, was like when I started to become a man, I had no real concept of what that masculinity or manhood was like, or what it, what the intention behind it, or what I was supposed to do with it, how I was supposed to figure it out. And so, you know, part of his key arguments in this is death is not an evil. It is either annihilation, which is no suffering, or a transition to the afterlife, which is potentially better. Now, I fundamentally believe that my death will open up a space for heaven in the afterlife with Christ. But in order to get there, what do I have to do? I have to pursue this revolutionary happiness, this virtual endeavor, this pressure to constantly be righteous in my existence, right? Don't forget that list of virtues, because that's what the pursuit is. And if I do that, then I'll have some what, what will emerge in that wisdom. And that's understanding death's inevitability and irrelevance to happiness, drawing on Stoic and Platonic ideas, Right? Certainly I understand the pursuit and the presence of death. If you exist within special operations, it's the whole thing is a death culture, right? The whole everything surrounds the eventual confrontation between a warrior or terrorists or evil, good and evil, however you want to look at it. It's that pursuit of confronting the thing that ultimately will destroy the pursuit of happiness for my tribe, right. So, you know, he also refutes fears by arguing the soul's immorality, and that's from Plato, or alternatively the non existence is not to be feared, which is the Epicurean view. Now, in linking this to happening, fear of death disrupts tranquility. Wisdom dispels this fear, enabling a calm life focused on virtue. So if you pursue this virtuous life, right. You know, depending upon where you look at it, if you're a Christian or have faith in the afterlife, man, you're going to do the things that you need to do that you know, you'll be welcomed into eternal existence. And for me, through my Christianity, right? And the other is, if it is annihilation, that's it, it's over, it's done. You know, you've pursued this thing, this reward of being virtuous to the people you care most about and to give that presence which creates what tranquility in the chaos that otherwise life itself. All right, the second one book was on enduring pain. And he says the theme of this is pain is not an insurmountable evil and can be Endured through mental strength. There key arguments. Pain is a body sensation, but its perception is magnified by the mind's weakness. Now I pitch this all the time. This is a core understanding of all of the frog logic concepts, right?

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Weight.

[David Rutherford]

Pain is an inevitability. Suffering and pain are imbued in life no matter which one. Even if the existence of knowing you're going to die, that's going to infuse pain. But as you see others suffer around you from drug addictions, overdoses, through bad health, mental health, trauma, abuse, neglect, all these things that seem to be a component of those who lack the ability to pursue happiness or virtuousness and only seek pleasure, right? Or don't push themselves to develop that the armor of virtuousness or righteousness, if you will, what happens that pain overwhelms them and then they lack discipline and they lack this tranquility and so that infects the environments around them. So pain is a part of it, it's how you perceive it. So I always talk when I talk to the teams that I work with. Man, part of your training should be implementing positive pain. That's what they did to us in SEAL program, right? It was the application of pos pain that derive that drive the evolution of our team life or our culture. Our team culture. And that team culture was built on the willingness to sacrifice for those you love most, to accept the harsh pain of existence on the battlefield as a component of the virtuousness that makes us strong together and that brings our happiness. That's the happiness they're talking about. Book three talks about grief and emotional distress.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

All right.

[David Rutherford]

Now alleviating grief and emotional disturbances is very difficult because it's imbued. Emotions like grief arrive from false beliefs about the importance of external goods like wealth, status, whatever it might be. And so often we grieve in that part, right? We have emotional distress because we don't feel like we have enough. We don't rate against our neighbors. Hell, I live in a place that's completely inundated with high net worth people. I'm surrounded by it. Even my job is all about high net worth people. And so I'm constantly bearing witness to that as the arbitrator of happiness. If you can retire at 55, you've got a lake house and all this other stuff and that's the aspiration of happiness which distorts the pursuit of happiness. That's based on what Jefferson is trying to implement through all these other people, right? So get in touch with that understanding Right, right. That you know, he rational self control and philosophical reflection that helps you overcome the distress of all these other ideas or material ideas that distract you from pursuing this virtuous philosophy.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

All right then book number four on other emotional disturbances, right? And this is managing all your passions, right. Fear, anger, desires to achieve what he calls a balanced soul. Now this has been a huge part of the self help moving which really I think emerged in the late 1960s in, you know, in a way that it is today, right. Through humanistic psychology and all of what now is positive psychology and all these other things. Right. The pursuit of this happy state.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

And that's what, you know, YOLO and all these other ideas like that have emerged in our social consciousness.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right, right.

[David Rutherford]

Because emotions are disorders caused by irrational judgments and that's part per the stoic doctrine. What I see is young people who are in this emotional distress that they don't have safe spaces. They, you know, the words are violence. All this crap that's just permeating across so many different levels of our society and demographics and age groups. It's ridiculous. Since when in human history has this been a reality? And it's not. And what it is, it's a hyper need to protect themselves against what? The harshness of life itself. And you can't continue to create safe spaces. It's just an impossibility. There's no such thing thing as a safe space. And it's illusion that people who want to manipulate other people have created for them to believe. There is no safe space, right? There's no space, safe space in your own mind. The contemplation of your meaning or value, that pursuit of virtuousness, that's pressure that can cause emotional distress if you don't have something to aim at, something to focus on.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

On, right?

[David Rutherford]

And that whole thing, right, Wisdom as rational control of passions creates a tranquil mind, right. It's the essential for lasting happiness. Now people want to imagine again, this thing is about right. If I can feel happy, if I feel that sense of elation, then that's my pursuit. That's an illusion. Happiness comes from the fact that when you're surround, when you're in the storm of life, your boat, your ship, your proverbial metaphorical ship of your mind, the, the mass doesn't crack and if it does, you don't freak out or you don't lose your rudder, and if it does, you don't freak out or the hole cracks and you don't freak out or you go into water on Your whatever, you don't freak out. You can maintain the sense of what the pursuit of happiness, right? The pursuit of those virtues that control everything is not the end. Everything is not dystopia incarnate. The world, the sky isn't falling every freaking minute. Why? Because you have the wisdom to recognize, you know, that which does not kill you only makes you stronger. Quote a little Nietzsche. And the last book is on the sufficiency of virtue for happiness. Virtue alone, alone is sufficient for a happy life, he says, regardless of external circumstances. He defends the Stoic view that virtue, wisdom, justice, courage, temperance is the sole good ensuring happiness even in its adversity. He engages with other schools, the epicureans, who prioritize pleasure and, and par. Par who include external goods and happiness, which is we as we know, a distraction from that pursuit. Suit right. If I, if I have this Rolex watch, I'm happy. If I own this home, I'm happy. If I have the top paying job, I'm happy. And that's what gets us distracted. And that's what this whole thing has been conjured and what it's done.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

And now because we're, we have so much access to information and there's so many choices to pursue, pursue, people are overwhelmed because they're not focused on those virtues to guide them in their ambitions.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

All right. You know, I, I think as, as you go through, you know, Cicero actually argues that happiness is attainable through wisdom and virtue, which enable tranquility by freeing the mind from fear, pain and emotional disturbance. Each book addresses a specific obstacle to happiness, offering philosophical tools to overco. Coming again. If you want to understand the length of which, go back, read some Cicero, read some Marcus Aurelius, read some Plato, Socrates, and it's not to adapt their genuine nature of philosophical ideas, but it's to understand that this is a journey that humans have not stopped. There has not been an interruption in this pursuit since the dawn of our consciousness. So what are you doing with your consciousness? Are you pursuing this happiness? You know, when you, when you go back in and you really look at why Jefferson incorporated this instead of the property clause as the, as the ultimate idea in, in that, you know, it was intentional and multifaceted. You know, I think what he says is, while Locke focused on material estate as a right, colonial documents like Masons treated property and happiness as separate. Property involved acquisition and possession, while happiness encompassed broader flourishing. The distinction avoided equating rights solely with ownership, which could have implement implementation implications at. With the whole slavery thing at the time, right? And I think Jefferson was apparent even though he was a slave owner, sleeping with one of his slaves, having children with one of his slaves. He was aware of that distinction that needed to be made, that it was not about the possession of property and more about the possession of this happiness or virtue as that which will make human beings amidst the grandeur of suffering and pain that will give them that sensation that their life has meaning. Therefore, they're actively participating in the property pursuit of good deeds, of being good men and women. You know, this. This made it more aspirational and inclusive, appealing to a diverse colonial audience, seeking justification for independence. Again, I go back. That revolutionary spirit, right? And that revolutionary spirit is what should be. I know it's taking place in many of you. I know you're having that. I think there are many people that are fomented this aggression against each other at pretty high degree right now. And that's what, you know, whatever the opposite side is, whatever the anarchists or the communists or the Marxists or the socialists or whatever want, they want to tear down the framework of virtue within us. That pursuit, what they say is, you'll be happy when you owe nothing and you'll like it. That's what it is. We will give you everything you need to be happy, which is essentially anesthetizing or impeding or muting or cutting out the very things inside you philosophically that are driving you to become the person you've always wanted to be, which is righteous in a place where salvation will accept you. Because. Because you've been virtuous and you have healthy relationships and you have deep meaning because you sacrifice yourself for your tribe, your clan, your. Your culture, your subsect of society, your communities, your churches, Right? That's giving you that deeper sense of purpose. You know, when you think about that list of virtues, this has been incorporated throughout time. I mean, you know, one of the great thinkers of that time also was Benjamin Franklin, you know, and you know, he had these 13 lists of virtues that if you adhered to them, you would have this sensation of happiness in you. It would give you that tranquility or that wisdom. It would give you that sense of. Sense of. Of. Of righteousness and being. And so these were his right. Temperance. Eat and drink in moderation. Avoid excess. Silence. Speak only with only what benefits others or yourself. Avoid idle chatter. Order. Keep things organized. Let each item have its place. Resolution. Stick to your decisions and goals. Frugality. Spend money wisely, only on what's worthwhile. Interesting that he was one of the foundation of our government.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

And what, what are we right now? $38 trillion in debt. I guess they've thrown fugality, frugality out the window. And what's going to happen as a result? Chaos.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Industry. Stay productive. Don't waste time on trivialities. What's your screen time right now? Look it up today while you listen to this. After I finish. Get on. What's your screen time for the last three weeks? Weeks. What could you have been doing productive in that time about fortifying your virtues? Sincerity. Be honest and fair. Avoid deceit. I mean lying is the serpentine of all societies. Corruption.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

Justice. Don't harm others. Do what's right. Moderation. Avoid extremes. Keep a balanced approach. Cleanliness. Maintain personal and environmental high hygiene. Tranquility. Stay calm. Don't sweat the small stuff. Chastity. Practice restraint in sexual matters. Man, that goes all the way back to Sodom and Gomorrah. And look at what we're seeing right now. Look at where we're seeing the aggressive violence emerge out of certain communities that are absolutely going after prudence or chastity, if you will. And those concepts. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. Be modest. You know, when you think about Jefferson's intent and reasons for including this right. He never explicitly explained the phrase, but its survival through the edits by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and the Committee of Five and Congress indicate on its meaning. This is what I want you to pay close attention to. He intended it to underscore that Britain's tyranny violated natural rights justifying revolution by including it. The Declaration framed independence as a moral imperative for enabling human potential. Linking personal virtue to republican republican governance. Personal virtue to republican governance. Not democratic governments. And I'm not talking about in terms of our political parties. Both political parties, in my opinion, have been sacrificing the pursuit of virtue at a very high degree in order for as long as I can remember, paying attention to politics.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Whether you want to go back to Iran Contra, whether you want to go back to taking us off the gold standard or the induction of the Fed and income tax. I mean how we went to war for 2 to 3% sales tax on tea. Well, how much you paying in taxes now?

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right?

[David Rutherford]

Or a war on traditional family values or the war in Iraq or unconditioned bombing against American civilians overseas or whatever it is our own, the Patriot act and our own violation of our own liberties. Can you imagine, imagine what our founding fathers would say if they were to be able to look at what we've concocted for ourselves and these distractions towards the pursuit of these virtues that were at the base revolutionary in nature. You know, this is not just some efficiency feet elite land owning person that just was like oh, I'll just throw this out. It sounds so poetic. My prose are significant. No, these were people that were breaking with the most powerful organization in the world and their lives were in danger. Every one of those people who concocted in particular Thomas Jefferson would have been hungry, found in public squares for writing these words. You have to let that seek in because you have to understand that's what was at stake when people no longer adhered to the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of virtue, the pursuit of wisdom and tranquility, the pursuit of root of a. A structure of salvation and righteousness. Right. Based on these God given inalienable rights. When we stop doing those things, then what happens? We get to a place like we're at right now. We get to a place where we're unsure of what's going to happen tomorrow. Tomorrow. So my ask of you as we wrap this up is to pursue those virtues. Pick two or three or one a month for the next year and focus on those virtues. In fact, what we're going to do, Jordy and I are going to put out a little challenge on the Frog Logic Institute. A little, little one month challenge.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Right.

[David Rutherford]

Actually we're going to take each virtue and we're going to build those out for one per week for however many, however many weeks. And we're going to give you a little assignment for that.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

All right?

[David Rutherford]

So we'll let you know when that's up and out for that little virtue challenge. Because what I think we all need to do more of is not be fixated on the material items or the feelings, feeling of ignorance that's going to give us this, this symbiotic or utopic state of existence. Because it's just not the way life works. It's just not reality. And so what we want you to do, what I want you to do is I want you to get focused on the pursuit of happiness by redefining the virtues that make you feel good.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Good.

[David Rutherford]

And they might be painful, but I'm telling you there's a revolution in your heart that needs to take place in your pursuit of your faith and your belief systems and what this great country represents. Oya.

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[Washable Sofas Advertiser]

Time for a sofa upgrade? Visit WashablesOfAs.com and discover animals where designer style meets budget friendly prices. With sofas starting at $699, Annabe brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Annabe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquid simply slides right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high resilience foam lets you choose between a sink in feel or a supportive memory foam blend. Plus our pet friendly stain resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today with no risk returns and a 30 day money back guarantee. Get up to 60% off plus free shipping and free returns. Shop now at washablesofas.com Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Jordan (Co-host or Guest)]

Ugh.

[David Rutherford]

Come on.

[Tech User]

Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Still using yesterday's tech Upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultra Light Ultra powerful and built for serious productivity. With Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance, it keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[David Rutherford]

Whoa.

[Tech User]

This thing moves.

[Lenovo Advertiser]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Abeka Homeschool Advertiser]

As a parent, you wear many hats. At dinner, you're the chef. When your kids play, you're the ref. And let's face it, you're basically a full time show fur. Fortunately, when it's time to wear your teacher hat, Abeka makes things easy. Our proven flexible homeschool curriculum is designed to let your kids retain and build on the knowledge they acquire, setting them up for success later in life. Abeka Learning for life begins with the right homeschool education. Learn more at abekahomeschool.com Saks Off 5th.

[Podcast Host]

Is your secret to fashion's most wanted deals at up to 70% on the hunt for designer steals that'll turn heads and leave a trail of envy. Uncover Gucci, Valentino, Versace, Stuart Weitzman and more. With new arrivals dropping weekly at prices too good to stay confidential, luxe Layers, statement boots and tailored essentials From Saks Off 5th will put your wardrobe on the most wanted list. Head to saksoffith.com or a Saks Off 5th store near you for a style lineup you won't want to miss. This is an iHeart podcast.