413 books
—
430 voters
“In this way, moral formation is not individual; it is relational. Character is not something you build sitting in a room thinking about the difference between right and wrong and about your own willpower. Character emerges from our commitments. If you want to inculcate character in someone else, teach them how to form commitments—temporary ones in childhood, provisional ones in youth, permanent ones in adulthood. Commitments are the school for moral formation. When your life is defined by fervent commitments, you are on the second mountain.”
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
“Political freedom is great. But personal, social, and emotional freedom—when it becomes an ultimate end—absolutely sucks. It leads to a random, busy life with no discernible direction, no firm foundation, and in which, as Marx put it, all that’s solid melts to air. It turns out that freedom isn’t an ocean you want to spend your life in. Freedom is a river you want to get across so you can plant yourself on the other side—and fully commit to something.”
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
“The meritocracy defines “community” as a mass of talented individuals competing with one another.”
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
“While it pretends not to, it subliminally sends the message that those who are smarter and more accomplished are actually worth more than those who are not.”
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
“A person who tries to treat life as if it were an extension of school often becomes what the Danish novelist Matias Dalsgaard calls an “insecure overachiever”: “Such a person must have no stable or solid foundation to build upon, and yet nonetheless tries to build his way out of his problem. It’s an impossible situation. You can’t compensate for having a foundation made of quicksand by building a new story on top. But this person takes no notice and hopes that the problem down in the foundation won’t be found out if only the construction work on the top keeps going.”
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
― The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
RV Traveling
— 2 members
— last activity Apr 13, 2008 09:23AM
Anyone who travels in their motorhome frequently. We can discuss our travels and good books to read about traveling or full-timing in an RV.
Bejinha’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Bejinha’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Bejinha
Lists liked by Bejinha




















































