Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times Highlight

He had the thick skin and individualistic temper of what the sociologist David Riesman would have called an “inner-directed” personality, which may have explained why, despite being a misfit, he didn’t seem unhappy. To the contrary, he seemed profoundly, almost eerily, content. The fact he hadn’t gotten recognized for his conduct? Aco claimed this didn’t bother him. The fact that no more than ten of the men he’d picked out in the cowshed had so much as said thanks? “I’m not asking people to thank me, I’m not bothered by it and I’m not offended.” This was not because he lacked pride but because his sense of pride was internally generated. “Everybody’s different, but I feel great today,” he told me. “Every morning, I look at myself in the mirror and I have a big smile. I’m a happy man.”