{"id":651,"date":"2026-05-24T18:38:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T18:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=651"},"modified":"2026-05-24T18:38:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T18:38:49","slug":"opinion-how-leisure-well-spent-can-lead-to-greater-civility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=651","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: How leisure, well spent, can lead to greater civility"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, the time when most Americans look forward to a period of leisure with their friends and family. But there are different types of leisure \u2014 some that leave us rested, some that leave us drained. And then there\u2019s another type of leisure that has largely been forgotten in the 250 years since America\u2019s founding \u2014 leisure for higher progress. It\u2019s a concept that the Founding Fathers were aware of, and practiced diligently.<\/p>\n

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I have spent more than 30 years studying the relationship between leisure and mental health and would like to see a renaissance of the forgotten idea, which can foster greater political civility and civic virtue in our day.<\/p>\n

The Founding Fathers were persuaded by Athenian philosophers and their governments to understand the dangers of pure democracy and the benefits of a balanced government. <\/p>\n

Thomas Jefferson, for example, sent James Madison a trunk full of books from Paris, more than 200 volumes covering history, government, philosophy and Athenian democracy, which Madison studied extensively to prepare for the 1787 Constitutional Convention. <\/p>\n

Consequently, in 1786, Madison spent months alone at his family farm, Montpelier, reading and reflecting on ancient governments, with a particular focus on the failures of Athenian democracy. He dedicated his leisure to higher progress by using his free time to form the framework of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

In \u201cNicomachean Ethics,\u201d<\/i> Aristotle defines leisure and posits that happiness depends on it; he says that using leisure time for contemplation or cultivating virtue can develop inner character. <\/p>\n

I borrow this phrase \u2014 leisure for higher progress \u2014 from leisure historian Benjamin Hunnicutt, who derived it from Walt Whitman. In Hunnicutt\u2019s books, \u201cFree Time: The Forgotten American Dream\u201d and \u201cThe Age of Experiences,\u201d <\/i>he advances the idea that the goal of industrial progress was to increase free time for community and self-improvement. Today, however, free time is often focused on the opposite of these ideas, mainly on amusements, entertainment and consumption.<\/p>\n

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In the afternoon, Jefferson would read about history, and after dark, he would read letters, rhetoric and criticism. It was the use of leisure for a clear and active mind, and for the development of political civility.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Leisure for higher progress is restoring the \u201cforgotten\u201d promise of work reduction and making good on the ideals of the Founding Fathers. Hunnicutt draws on the academic labor of Whitman\u2019s \u201chigher progress.\u201d Whitman prioritized interior life, individualism and self-reliance over materialism and consumption. <\/p>\n

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Leisure for higher progress, then, would free humans to develop and cultivate leisure as self-improvement, character development, pursuing noble and social causes, following genuine and positive impulses, developing personal growth, and serving others and the community. <\/p>\n

I recently read Jeffrey Rosen\u2019s book \u201cThe Pursuit of Happiness,\u201d which details how classical writers inspired the Founding Fathers. Rosen notes, for example, Jefferson\u2019s extensive reading list and how he spent hours each day reading and reflecting on different subjects and topics, such as reading \u201cphysical studies\u201d first thing in the morning, then reading law in the later morning. <\/p>\n

In the afternoon, Jefferson would read about history, and after dark, he would read letters, rhetoric, and criticism. It was the use of leisure for a clear and active mind, and for the development of political civility.<\/p>\n

Leisure is so different today, with so many Americans addicted to dopamine hits from stimulus-driven entertainment. Most historians suggest that the modern entertainment industry began in the late 19th century with the commercialization of motion pictures and the development of the phonograph. While these developments added much pleasure to our lives, leisure for higher progress began to take a back seat, and we are seeing the bitter fruit of that change today. <\/p>\n

In my book \u201cCease to Contend,\u201d I recommend that more Americans spend time reading and reflecting on politics, policymaking and democratic government so that political civility can increase. That is, using leisure as our Founding Fathers used it, for higher progress and for better communities. <\/p>\n

If we can learn and understand other people better, especially those who vote differently, we can find middle ground easier, and then compromise is so much simpler \u2014 the type of compromise that was the foundation to the Miracle in Philadelphia. Progress is not found in political tribalism or the echo chambers of the internet, but in following the leisure pursuits of our Founding Fathers.<\/p>\n

Rodney B. Dieser is the author of eight books and over 150 articles on leisure and mental health. He is a professor of learning, leadership and community at the University of Northern Iowa and also works as a licensed mental health counselor at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The views expressed here are his own.<\/i><\/p>\n

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