Today’s Men Need to Take Lessons From Our Founding Fathers to Pursue Greatness

By Evan Mahoney

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Let’s face it.  Our country needs drastic change. Somehow, over the last (almost) 250 years, we’ve lost our way spiritually, emotionally, socially, and even physically. Men specifically, have lost their way and even their roles to some extent in  our society and it’s time we do something to get it back.  To do this, we can look at the examples that our founding fathers laid out to lay the groundwork for the house that is our country - a house that seems to be crumbling from the ground up.

I will show you five examples of how the founding fathers lived lives that should serve as a roadmap for us men today and how we can follow that roadmap to lead us and everyone we care about to a more promising destination.

The founding fathers worked through the idea that their work was part of an enduring legacy

We as men, fathers, and husbands must understand that our legacy is not complete when we leave this earth.  It continues through the generations that live after us and they will ultimately, be affected by our actions today.  The things we choose to focus on, the way we act in our personal lives, and the initiative we establish in our business and financia ives will have tremendous effects on our children and our children’s children and our children’s children’s children.  We must act with those future generations in mind while considering the principles of our founding fathers - men who lived in an uncertain, uncomfortable time while establishes systems for future generations.

The founding fathers were willing to compromise

While the founding fathers had a willingness to compromise, they were not willing to  sacrifice their moral character to achieve it. Compromis was crucial to assuring the rights and liberties we all enjoy today and we as men must be able to do the same.  A hard heart and hardheadedness will get us nowhere, especially in this society of political correctness.  We must tread lightly at times and be willing to negotiate healthy compromise and agreement.  This can take place in our workplace, with our wives, and with our children. We can be the mature, even-handed light in a world of darkness.

Alexander Hamilton defended many of these “Loyalists” in court, and even helped create the judicial review system and the concepts of due process. Hamilton fought for the people who weren't well liked in the new country because he believed that they had rights. That displays a great amount of integrity.

John Adam’s was certainly a very moral man. He and others were guided by an understanding of humility that few leaders have had. You know what John Adam’s did after he served as President? He went to work on his farm (no slaves to help him out too). Can you imagine any leader over the past century doing that? Many of the leaders of that time actually had very little interest in political careers. People life Jefferson thought of it as more of a hobby not a profession and most of them overall wanted to live simpler lives and saw the revolution as a means to gaining those simpler lives. People these days don’t seem all that interested in that. They seem more interested in power and money.

They Weren’t Perfect

As men, living up to the model of perfection is a dangerous venture that will ultimately lead us to feel as that we have failed.  The founding fathers were not without their faults as humans. Much has been written about slavery and the founding fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson.  While these account paint a deplorable picture, and no one's life should hold greater value than others, these men made mistakes in which the events of the time allowed them to be acceptable. This though hold’s true - should we judge any man by his actions in his worst moments?  Doing an internal review of my actions, I certainly hope not. We as men, must always be striving for improvement and to learn from our mistakes, especially if there are consequences for others due to our actions.

They were resolute in tough times

I think there is no question that we are already in and/or heading for hard times.  The moral fabric of our society has eroded right before our eyes, with misguided policy making and an overemphasis on goods, fame, and notoriety at all costs.  As men, we must be beacons of light in the fading light of our the character of our society, as were our founding fathers. Strive to be a role model not just for yourself, but for your family, your workplace, your community, and the nation.  We DO NOT need another decade of passive men.  We need men who are compassionate and loving, yet resolute in their dedication to helping others - for now and for the future. Nothing can hold you back from moving forward, except for you.

They Lived With Incredible Integrity

Integrity - n. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.  The founding fathers lived lives of great integrity and their examples laid the groundwork for the integrity of future men. Benjamin invented the lightning rod to save homes from being destroyed by lightning.  He then refused to patent it and was quoted as saying"we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously".  Famously, George Washington had tremendous power and walked away from it twice. Once, at the end of the revolutionary war he resigned his commission and headed home and then after two terms of his presidency he resigned stating that he didn’t want to set the precedent that the presidency was a lifetime term.  How many men in power in history have voluntarily given up their positions for the greater good of a nation? Outside of Nelson Mandela…NONE. As men today, we are judged by what we do and don’t do on a daily basis.  We must be men of strong moral integrity, even above what society deems as acceptable.  We must all hold ourselves to a higher standard for the greater good of all under our care.

What Does this All Mean?

Very simple and plainly, men, we need to do better. We have gotten lost in the maze of technology, social media, and toxic culture and forgotten the simple lessons that are for fathers established to make this great country. If we want to keep this country being the great country that at once was, we need to step as men, just as the founding fathers did. Here at Twelve-One Man, we are dedicated to that mission and will provide you with the tools necessary to live lives of greatness. It starts with you, it starts now. Go be great.