Jeb Bush in Profiles in Character
On Principles & Values:
Focus on virtue & character, not values
We must do a better job of instilling character and virtue in our children and helping those institutions charged with this task. It means not getting bogged down in the current and unwinnable debate over values. That debate must be redefined in the
context of virtues. Values have replaced virtues as our moral lighthouses, and there are many different value systems present in our culture. Our character-building institutions have bought into the idea that we have to recognize all kinds of value
systems and, instead of providing us guidance, now provide us with tools to justify a wide variety of deviant behaviors. In other words, they do not teach our children right from wrong, but rather how to make informed choices.
Our children need
direction, not choices. If we give them the proper direction, the principles by which to live their lives, then in the long run they will be more likely to make the right choices. We must become more virtue oriented and less value oriented.
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 21 & 35
Nov 1, 1995
On Abortion:
No need to teach about abortion if we have moral absolutes
Virtues are standards of behavior that are fixed & firm in any civilized society. Who would argue that fortitude, prudence, justice, temperance, discipline, work, responsibility, honesty, honor & compassion are not good things? Listen to William Bennett:
Forming good character in young people does not mean having to instruct them on thorny issues like abortion, creationism, homosexuality, or euthanasia, to name just a few. People of character can be conservative and good people can be liberal
Virtues are agreed-upon standards of right and wrong. Values, on the other hand, refer to a system of beliefs possessed by certain groups. Even Nazis and the worst street gangs have values. Since values focus on a position, they tend to
accentuate our differences. Modern values often trump traditional values such as accountability, moderation, and deferred gratification. We have all seen the value of personal choice warring against the value of commitment to the family and children.
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 36-37
Nov 1, 1995
On Crime:
Heinous crimes no longer news: exposure lowers norms
Because of increased exposure to the strange or abnormal, we consciously lower the parameters of what we tolerate as acceptable behavior. Consider the extensive coverage of the 1929 Valentine’s Day Massacre, involving the killing of 7 gangsters during
Prohibition. In contrast, in a recent drug execution in which 3 people were slain, the story appeared only in the second section of the newspaper, at the bottom of the page. The contrast demonstrates not our approval of violent crime, but rather our
trivialization of such crime, our growing accustomed to violent acts or other kinds of behavior that skirt the bounds of decency. Crime is no longer outrageous to us. We do not put the routine stories of heinous behavior on the front page anymore
because they are no longer abnormal. Only the truly outrageous makes the front page. These journalistic decisions should be taken as a warning. Do we now treat our societal dysfunctions as if they were only part of a TV show, surrealistic & out of reach?
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 39-41
Nov 1, 1995
On Principles & Values:
Pass moral judgment & teach virtue to our children
Correcting our social pathologies will take time. Foremost, it will require a renewal of virtue and character and a rejuvenation of those institutions that teach virtue and character. We need to teach our children that there are universal rights and
wrongs, that you can’t spend your life explaining away or justifying deviant conduct. This means, then, that we must regain confidence in passing moral judgments, using the language of virtue and teaching virtue to our children. It is important that
we begin to discuss virtue and character in the context of those who exhibit true virtue and character on a routine basis. We must elevate the people who are redefining our culture every day for the better for they are the profiles in character from
whom we must learn.
Following their lead, we must make a conscious effort to practice even small acts of character and virtue. If we roll up our sleeves and do our part, the answer to our cultural problems will come.
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 41-42
Nov 1, 1995
On Welfare & Poverty:
Taking welfare should be more shameful than working
Aristotle created a special category of virtue, which he called “quasi virtues.” In it he placed shame. Shame has always been an important mechanism for exercising self-control. An example of how we have come to devalue shame in our society is in our
welfare system. In the mid-1960s, only half of those eligible for welfare payments were taking them and many enrolled would refuse to take the maximum allowance. People shined shoes and found other ways to bring in money that by today’s standards would
be considered shameful. However, by the early 1970s, the stigma of receiving welfare had been lost by an administration that encouraged receipt of welfare. The rolls exploded as a much higher percentage of those who were eligible suddenly thought it less
shameful to take advantage of the benefits rather than employ themselves in a job requiring hard work, such as shining shoes or sweeping floors. For many it is more shameful to work than to take public assistance-that is how backward shame has become!
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 52-55
Nov 1, 1995
On Civil Rights:
Gay rights & feminism are "modern victim movements"
Since the 1960s, the politics of victimization has steadily intensified. Being a victim gives rise to certain entitlements, benefits, and preferences in society. The surest way to get something in today’s society is to elevate one’s status to that of
the oppressed. Many of the modern victim movements-the gay rights movement, the feminist movement, the black empowerment movement-have attempted to get people to view themselves as part of a smaller group deserving of something from society.
It is a major deviation from the society envisioned by Martin Luther King, who would have had people judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin-or sexual preference or gender or ethnicity. Eventually there will come a
time when everybody will be able to claim some status as a victim of society, leaving few in society who will actually be considered the victimizers. Who, then, will be left to blame in a world in which it is victim against victim?
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 59-60
Nov 1, 1995
On Education:
Grade inflation breeds culture of falsely perceived success
The self-esteem excuse is used today in a variety of forms at many of our institutions of higher learning. Many of our graduate and professional schools these days function on an inflated grading curve. For some of the nation’s most prestigious schools,
[the average of] the curve is set at a B+. That means anything below a B+ is considered below average. Students in a class could be performing only C work, but because the grading curve is a B+, those students’ grades will be bumped up to a grade of B+
or higher. The justification for this high grading curve is apparently part self-esteem and part fear of competition. Many schools in the upper echelon now inflate their grading curves so that their students will have an advantage in the job market.
As other schools get wise to this grade inflation, they too inflate their grading curves, breeding a culture of perceived successes and abhorrence to failre.
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 62-63
Nov 1, 1995
On Technology:
Practice tech in context of virtue; not isolated pleasure
[With e-mail], not only do we lose the human contact with the persons we are communicating with, but also the time spent online or tuning out with your Walkman is time spent away from your spouse, your children, your neighbor. We are becoming socially
disconnected from our fellowman. We spend too much time downloading gobs of useless information and this is becoming a serious problem for our culture. The social canyons created by rushing rivers of technology and modernization must be bridged.
But we must be careful not to undo the good things these rivers have brought us.
We must reengage ourselves in our social settings, in our neighborhoods and communities, but do so in a way that acknowledges the advances made by our society.
We should practice our technology in the context of character and virtue. Use it for the benefit of mankind, not to stimulate isolated pleasure. We must continue our technological revolution but we cannot use it as a substitute for social interaction.
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p. 71-73
Nov 1, 1995
On Government Reform:
Proper role: public order & general welfare
We must ask ourselves what the proper role of government should be. We must find the things government does well or should do well. In doing this, we should keep in mind 3 principles:- Government is at its best when it is providing public order and
safety, when it is preventing our encroachment upon one another, when it is building and maintaining roads and bridges. We must move towards letting government do these things first.
- Government does have a role to play in the general welfare of its
citizens. Public education and assistance for those truly in need are legitimate and important areas for government involvement. However, improved results will only come from a shift in decision making away from bureaucrats to a new social management
team-volunteers in our communities.
- Too often in the past, we have created social policy without asking basic questions. What kind of behavior will this legislation encourage or discourage? How will a particular policy afect families and communities?
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush & B.Yablonski, p.180-81
Nov 1, 1995
On Corporations:
Fight corporate welfare: snouts out of public trough
Responsibility and self-government [also apply to] programs that are considered by many to be corporate welfare. Limited government does not mean limited for only one portion of society, one economic class. We cannot ask government to do less for the
many while doing more for the few. Limited government is about the fair distribution of limited resources, meaning that as we criticize social spending for being no solution to our social problems, we should also criticize unnecessary corporate
entitlements as no cure for our competitiveness problems. Creating barriers to competition and sanctuaries for profit is no answer. Many industries realize that they profit from a bigger, more involved government. Yet a return to limited self-government
would not be complete without pushing these corporate snouts out of the public trough. Limiting the role of government must be a process that is rational, equitable, and principled.
Source: Profiles in Character, by Jeb Bush, p.172-173
Nov 1, 1995
On Families & Children:
Shame fathers who walk away from paternal obligations
Jeb Bush defended a passage in a 1995 book he co-authored calling for the restoration of shame as a way to curb out-of-wedlock births. Single parenthood, he said, "hurts the prospects, limits the possibilities of young people being able to live lives of
purpose and meaning."In the book, "Profiles in Character," it said that "one of the reasons more young women are giving birth out of wedlock and more young men are walking away from their paternal obligations is that there is no longer a stigma
attached to this behavior, no reason to feel shame. Shame is one of the great regulators of conduct."
Asked about the passage, Bush said his stances have evolved since 1995 but that "my views about the importance of dads being involved in
the lives of their children haven't changed at all."
The problem, said Bush, has grown worse, not better. Bush said the original passage he wrote referred primarily to shaming fathers, though that is not clear from the wording in the book.
Source: N.Y. Times coverage of "Profiles in Character," by Jeb Bush
Jun 11, 2015
Page last updated: Feb 21, 2019