Three Great Men May 11, 2025May 11, 2025 Joseph Nye. He invented “soft power” — and in so doing, both strengthened America and saved/improved tens of millions of lives around the world. Not bad. Descended from a Puritan who reached America in 1639, Professor Nye died Tuesday. He wasn’t a Fox News host or inducted into the Fake Wrestling Hall of Fame, but his obituary is worth reading nonetheless. Pope Francis. He lived humbly, by Jesus’s word. The humble part was no joke . . . eschewing the Apostolic Palace to live in a modest guest house . . . washing the feet of prisoners . . . directing that he be buried beneath a plain tombstone inscribed, simply, “Franciscus.” Pope Leo. After decades of service to the poor and needy, he is said to have said (I couldn’t verify it) “I accept this role not as a throne, but as a vow.” Bravo.