The Virtue of Grit
Religion & Liberty Online

The Virtue of Grit

Following up on my post from earlier this week, “Gritty Entrepreneurship,” fellow PowerBlogger Ken Larson pointed me to a previous issue of InCharacter, the now defunct online publication focused on “everyday virtues.”

The Spring 2009 issue is devoted to “Grit,” defined by Joseph Epstein as “the overcoming of serious obstacles through determined effort.” Sam Schulman says, “Grit is the business of the task of civilization — delaying gratification, defending something bigger than your own family, building a community rather than a household or a campfire.”

Picking up on the false dichotomy between innovation and perseverance, the following is listed as one of the top 10 gritty moments: “December 1879: After more than 10,000 failed experiments, Thomas Edison gives a demonstration of his new incandescent bulb.”

Check out the issue for more on the virtue of “grit.”

Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy at First Liberty Institute.