Thank you Angela McIllece, Heroic Arizona Tucson Chapter Leader, for this forum post.

In a world driven by instant gratification, curated self-image, and an unrelenting pursuit of more, the ancient language of virtue can feel like a whisper in a storm. Yet, as society speeds up—consuming faster, scrolling longer, and comparing more obsessively—the question becomes not whether there’s still room for virtue, but whether we can afford to live without it.

Virtue isn’t outdated—it’s foundational. In ancient times, virtues like courage, discipline, love, and wisdom were not seen as lofty ideals, but as essential practices for living a meaningful life. The Stoics taught that virtue was the only true good. The Bhagavad Gita framed disciplined action as sacred. The Bible’s fruits of the Spirit mirrored timeless values of love, patience, and self-control. Across cultures and centuries, virtue has always been the scaffolding on which enduring lives and societies are built.

Today, those same virtues offer an antidote to our cultural ailments: anxiety, division, burnout, and meaninglessness. In a culture that prizes immediacy and appearance, these timeless qualities call us back to something deeper and truer:

• Courage dares us to speak truth in a world of echo chambers, to face discomfort, and to pursue what is right over what is easy.
• Discipline allows us to rise above distraction and indulgence, choosing habits that serve our higher purpose rather than fleeting desire.
• Love rehumanizes our relationships, reminding us that people are not avatars or algorithms, but souls worthy of empathy and care.
• Hope refuses cynicism. It keeps our eyes lifted toward possibility, no matter how dark the night may seem.
• Gratitude anchors us in abundance. In a world that thrives on scarcity and consumerism, it reminds us of what we already have.
• Curiosity opens our minds, protects us from stagnation, and allows us to approach one another—and ourselves—with wonder instead of judgment.
• Zest fuels our days with energy and joy. It’s the reminder that life is meant not just to be survived but fully lived.
• Wisdom helps us filter signal from noise. It calls us to think long-term, to see consequences, and to act with discernment.

Virtue, in this context, becomes a form of resistance. It’s how we stay human in an age of automation. It’s how we preserve meaning in a sea of metrics. And it’s how we protect our attention, our integrity, and our shared humanity.

To live with virtue today is not to retreat into moral nostalgia—it is to step forward with radical clarity. In homes, in schools, in boardrooms, and in neighborhoods, we need people who are committed not just to performance, but to character. Not just to achievement, but to alignment. Not just to being admired, but to being grounded.

So yes, there is still room for virtue in modern culture. More than that: we are starving for it. We don’t need more noise. We need more wisdom. We don’t need more filters. We need more truth. We don’t need more followers. We need more leaders who serve.

The deeper question is not whether virtue fits in modern life, but: Are we willing to slow down, wake up, and choose it—again and again, day after day, moment to moment to moment? That’s precisely the invitation Heroic extends to each of us: to step into the arena of our lives and deliberately practice ancient virtues in modern times.

And what might happen if we did?

What’s your take? How have Heroic practices helped you embody these virtues—and where do you see opportunities to bring more courage, wisdom, or love into your world today?