[dkarl]

I'm not all that fond of Stoicism, but this appears to be a recycled version of the same accusation that used to be leveled against Buddhism, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's based on the same misunderstanding. And as a progressive in the 21st century, it never occurred to me that interpreting Stoicism for myself would mean adopting the politics of long-dead Romans as my personal concept of "duty." Even with traditional religion it's considered weird and extremist to take that approach. For me, and for this author, a charitable reading of Stoicism would have to include compassion and activism in the concept of duty, similar to the ethical stance of engaged Buddhism.