history – Page 8 – SemperVerus

The Door of Leadership Swings on the Hinge of Character

Four-star Admiral James Stavridis served as the commander of US Southern Command, US European Command, and Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, and served for five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is currently Partner and Vice Chairman, Global Affairs of The Carlyle Group, and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, What a Leaf-Sweeper’s Answer Teaches About Personal Leadership ]

In his book, Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character, he explores—through the lives of some of the most illustrious naval commanders in history—how personal character is the driving force behind successful or failed leadership.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness Self-Defense: Seeing Temptation as a Threat ]

None of the admirals in this volume were perfect, and some were deeply flawed. But important themes emerge, not least that serving your reputation is a poor substitute for serving your character; and that taking time to read and reflect is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, How Does Your Character Measure Up? ]

“The big door of leadership can swing for good or for ill…the hinge upon which that big door of leadership swings is called character; the human heart,” says Admiral Stavridis. “What’s in that heart, what kind of character a leader has is what will determine how that big door of leadership will swing for good purpose or for terrible evil.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Every Small Decision Leads to Winning or Losing in Spiritual Warfare ]

Here are a few of the lessons taught in the book:

The Importance of the Second Amendment Foundation

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) safeguards and promotes the fundamental civil rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure that the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense ]

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Amendment II, The US Constitution

The following 22-minute video, Reflections: Five Decades of SAF’s 2A Advocacy, celebrates SAF’s 50 years of defending the Second Amendment and fighting legal battles in the courts for gun owners’ civil rights.

By semperverus
Posted on 11/17/202411/21/2025

Statue of Billy Graham Unveiled in Statuary Hall of US Capitol

Salvation in Christ Jesus was offered in National Statuary Hall May 16, 2024 at the unveiling of a 7-foot tall bronze statue of the iconic late global evangelist Billy Graham (who died at age 99 in 2018) which has John 3:16 and John 14:6 carved in its base.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible? ]

US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, other congressional members, dignitaries, and the Graham family and friends officiated at the hour-long ceremony, which was carried live on C-SPAN.

In his prayer of invocation, US Senate Chaplain Dr. Barry Black described Mr. Graham’s life as “the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless day, and like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth. Lord, we celebrate his laudable example of blameless living, of obedience to your commands, and of telling your good news of salvation around the world. Inspired by his great and sacrificial life, may we emulate his commitment by refusing to deviate from integrity, living above reproach, and striving to transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.” [Editor’s Note: These expressed characteristics are the same advocated by living the SemperVerus life.]

SemperVerus Helps You Be Authentic : The 2023 Word of the Year

Merriam-Webster logo The craving for authenticity in our internet culture of bogosity and the breakdown of society reflected in deepfakes, post-truth, situational ethics, “your-truth-is-not-my-truth,” and artificial intelligence, has resulted in Merriam-Webster declaring authentic its Word of the Year, based on the high-volume lookup data during 2023 on the dictionary’s website, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity, and social media.

Among the other highly searched words in the dictionary’s 2023 data, is deepfake: “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.”

Authentic has a number of meanings, including not false and not imitation, and its synonyms include real, actual, legitimate, pure, reliable, and true.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense ]

SemperVerus is here to help you “stay true to what is right” (1 Timothy 4:16 NLT) by adhering to the teachings of Scripture; as Jesus prayed to God the Father, “Use the truth to make them holy. Your word is truth” (John 17:17 NIrV).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible? ]

Personalize the following pledge and constantly remind yourself of it by wearing the SemperVerus^® waterproof flexible rubber inspirational wristband.