Moral resilience—what we usually call rectitude or fortitude—is a phenomenon not easy to elucidate. In my essay, I discuss the issue starting from an example of special moral resilience, given by the Italian writer Mario Rigoni Stern who, between 1939 and 1945, found himself living in excruciating life conditions demonstrating an out-of-the ordinary fortitude. After presenting this case study, I will propose a framework thesis: that the ethically most robust polarizations are built upon life intuitions—a pattern of resilient beliefs and commitments that make it possible not to be overwhelmed by events. These moral insights operate below focalized or thematic consciousness as de-polarizing forces, sometimes even as counterterror powers, capable of re-orienting people towards the future.