Dear Editor, Several of my friends say that news reports claim that Harper Lee’s new book portrays moral hero Atticus Finch as a racist. Someone told me that if you see it on ItsEthicsStupid.com, it is so. Please tell me the truth, is Atticus Finch a racist? Signed, Virginia Every-Reader Virginia, Your friends are wrong. Although reporters claim that the...

Last Wednesday, I wrote about the “sweet deals” of perks and privileges accorded the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. While I believe they do an incredibly difficult job for little compensation, nonetheless, I believed that, ethically, they should release their expenses as well as the names of individuals or groups who pay those expenses on a variety of free trips around...

You would think that after being appointed a United States Supreme Court justice – a position held for life, mind you – that you would be fairly comfortable, even content. However, it might surprise you to learn that along with having a lifetime job, a parking space, invitations to things like special dinners, the State of the Union address, there...

The speed at which attitudes and actions have changed, particularly in the South, about the Confederate battle flag has been staggering. Since the senseless shooting deaths of 9 individuals attending a bible study class in a Charleston, South Carolina church on June 17, we’ve gone from the state’s governor calling for the removal of the flag from the capitol grounds...

What makes a hero? This guy, Nicholas Winton, a British-born stockbroker who never told anyone for fifty years, about his heroic effort in organizing the successful “escape of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II,” The New York Times writes (July 1). A did that ranks alongside those similar to Oskar Schindler and Raoul...

Holding a protest sign which read: “My Child, My Choice,” Sarah Mazerik was one of many individuals protesting outside the California State Capitol after the Assembly approved a measure requiring all children going to both public and private school to get the required health vaccines before attending. “Adopting one of the most far-reaching vaccination laws in the nation,” The Los...

The Take was amazed and gratified by three positive events that demonstrated the best we can be. Forgiveness – At the bail hearing for the murder suspect in the Charleston Church shooting this past week, a remarkable and noble spirit spoke. As reported by the Christian Science Monitor (June 20), “ ‘We already forgive him for what he’s done, and...

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I rarely comment about ethical lapses that happen outside the United States, but this one’s unique. The small island of Canna, off the coast of Scotland in the Hebrides, is a stunningly beautiful and tranquil place with a population of just 19 adults and four children. It is also a place that faced its first case of dishonesty in 50...

Should we forgive Brian Williams? After four months, we now know what will happen to former NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams after being suspended for lying about his “war time” experience: He will not be returning to the anchor desk. The very able Lester Holt, who’s been filling in for Williams, will become the permanent anchor, a position well...