America, Where is Our Plutarch, Our Seneca?

Seneca the Younger was a very wealthy citizen of ancient Rome known as much for his writings in philosophy and drama as his political career. He moved in the highest circles in Rome and manifested the highest achievements of a well educated man in his writings.

Since the days of our founding fathers, where is there an American Seneca? We have plenty of wealthy people. The richest people go the the most famous schools, but where is the evidence of their successful education? Where is there a rich man since our American Revolution who has manifested a great mind by writing anything of value?

Plutarch was a wealthy man in ancient Greece and one of the greatest minds in Western Civilization. Where is our Plutarch? With all the science and wealth at our disposal, why have we never had a rich American with a superior mind? The wealthy have access to our most famous schools, but they amount to nothing.

Is there something wrong with our rich that they are only good at making money? Is there something wrong with Harvard, Yale, and the rest of the Ivy League that the education they provide seems to make no positive impression on the wealthy?

Or is there something wrong with American culture that cannot see any merit beyond wealth?

I say it is time to demand better performance from the wealthy people that run America. They take over our politics with their money and give us shamelessly incompenent leaders, but we do not have to continue going down this road of failure.

We can turn off our TVs during the elections and ignore the political advertisements.

We can demand competence in our leaders.

And most importantly, we can better educate our children so we might yet have a Seneca or a Plutarch in America.

Robert