Radical Prudence

A dear friend who reads this blog, and professes to enjoy it, recently submitted a nomination for our Profiles in Meekness award.

I could not agree more with his suggestion; except that I am torn between commending Robert Woodson’s meekness, or his hunger for justice.

Woodson is a long-time civil rights activist, who parted ways with the mainstream movement when it began to flow leftward, in ways he clearly saw had little to do with helping the unfortunate, and everything to do with fattening the wallets, and the egos, of the inner circle.

I have the distinct impression that Woodson has never spent a moment regretting his decision.

Listening to this man speak, it is evident that he has a heart aflame with charity: with a love for serving God, by serving the least of his children.

This is not to say that Woodson has the slightest propensity—as do those he left behind—to belittle the poor and suffering. Quite the contrary. It is clearly his mission in life to persuade those deprived of worldly advantages that they are already in possession of what they need to find success and happiness: if they like him will allow a certain flame to light up their hearts.

Woodson calls himself a “radical pragmatist.” The professor in me cannot resist pointing out that Woodson is anything but an adherent of (pseudo) philosophic pragmatism, which corrupts souls by teaching them to ignore questions of what is right in favor of what “works” in the achievement of desired ends.

My term for what Woodson embodies would be radical prudence. Prudence is the virtue by which we seek the best means of achieving the best ends. And it is precisely this virtue that has driven Woodson relentlessly to eschew ideology and settle for nothing less than what actually elevates the souls of his fellow men.

In this beautiful speech, Woodson explains how and why he does what he does. In the process, he offers a necessary corrective, not only to those who would tear this nation apart by sowing resentment and scorn, but also to those who are at a loss how to resist their satanic schemes.

The professor will now shut up, and let this self-professed “C student” with a heart of gold tell his story:

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