Verified by 
Virtue has ultimate value for human beings.
This is a central belief of Stoicism. For the Stoic philosopher, virtue matters more than pleasure, more than wealth, more than fame, even more than death. We must not sacrifice character, or the cultivation of it, for the sake of any lesser good.
Seneca states that "good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness" (Letters XXVII). In practice, this means that you should "sacrifice everything to your single-minded efforts to make yourself every day a better man" (Letters V). But character seems in short supply these days. We see a lack of character on the national political stage, from both sides to one degree or another. We see people in our daily lives disregarding clear truths for their own comfort, or financial gain, or due to the old vice of pride. If we are honest, we can see such things in ourselves as well.
One of the most well-known Stoics, Marcus Aurelius, claims that "what happens to each individual is somehow arranged to conduce to his destiny" (Meditations 5.8). This of course includes living in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, a contested election, and a politically, morally, and religiously polarized nation. But what is central to our destiny, again, is to focus on being good. We are to be "dyed to the core with justice" (Meditations 3.3). That is our proper destiny. That destiny does not depend on what happens to us. Rather, it depends on our response to what happens to us.
We can use the circumstances of our lives, whatever they are, to work at displaying and growing in virtue. Any opportunity to deal with adversity in a virtuous manner is an occasion for training oneself in discipline, endurance, patience, and other virtues. Marcus represents attainment of the virtues as a contest, like a wrestling or boxing match. And the adversity of these days feels like a contest, one that also surely provides such an opportunity.
Marcus also discusses the damage done to a soul when that soul is "gripped by anger" (Meditations 2.16). He observes that there is "nothing manly in being angry"; the gentle are the ones who are strong and courageous. Anger is in fact a sign of weakness for him (Meditations 11.18). This is important given all of the anger present in our society right now related to politics, masks, and other consequences of the pandemic. A key issue with anger is that it threatens our ability to let reason control us. We must fight this inner battle for virtue using our reason if we are to be virtuous and live a fully good life.
The Stoics would urge all of us, no matter what is happening around us and to us, to not put off the life of wisdom and virtue. We must focus on this, one of life's greatest goods. Now is the time.
As Epictetus says:
“From now on, then, resolve to live as a grown-up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer... Socrates fulfilled himself by attending to nothing except reason in everything he encountered. And you, although you are not yet a Socrates, should live as someone who at least wants to be a Socrates.”
