Let’s Be Honest – The “Uncivil Season” EditionShare this… Facebook Pinterest Twitter Linkedin » Read more about: Let’s Be Honest – The “Uncivil Season” Edition »...Read MoreSeptember 14, 2009Let's Be Honest
September 2009 Ethical Hero – Stan BrockWhile everyone agrees that health care needs reform, agreement on exactly how remains to be seen. Stan Brock isn’t waiting for change. His group provides health care for those that need it most. “If you’ve got a mouth full of bad teeth and you can’t see to function, to get a job, for you it is a disaster,” Brock said....Read MoreSeptember 12, 2009Hero of the Month
The Junius Kellogg StoryIt’s not easy to do the right thing when everybody’s making money but you. That’s why ’50s Manhattan College basketball star Junius Kellogg stood out in more ways than one. In the superb 1998 HBO documentary, City Dump: The Story of the 1951 Basketball Scandal, broadcaster Al McGuire remembers, “You didn’t even have $15 for laundry in those days. You had no scratch,...Read MoreSeptember 11, 2009EthicsFairnessSports
When is it Not the Public’s Right?Last Friday (Sept. 4) Huffington Post ran a photo on the front page of its site with the headline, “Snapshot of an Unseen War.” The photo depicted the final hours of life of Lance Corporal Joshua M. Bernard, 21, after he was struck down by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan on August 14. Several newspapers around the country chose to run The Associated...Read MoreSeptember 9, 2009CompassionMilitaryRespect
How Would You Decide? – Part IILast Friday, I offered an ethical dilemma. I asked readers to imagine sitting on the California parole board to decide whether to grant convicted murderer Susan Atkins “compassionate release” based on her terminally ill condition. I asked readers to offer their thoughts before submitting my own conclusions. One comment that repeatedly came up in conversations with friends, “How can you show...Read MoreSeptember 7, 2009MedicinePersonalitiesRespectResponsibility
Uncommon SenseIn words that I can only describe as abominably ignorant, a number of state legislators and others have said the following regarding President Obama’s planned address to school children regarding education and achievement via the Internet Tuesday. Senator and candidate for governor of Oklahoma Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso): “President Obama has shown time and time again that he has little regard...Read MoreSeptember 5, 2009PersonalitiesPhilosophy
How Would You Decide? – Part IYou sit on the California state parole board looking into a request to release Susan Atkins, the terminally ill prisoner convicted of participating in the killing of actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969. At the parole hearing, you listen to family members of the victims. Debra Tate, sister of the actress: “I will pray for her soul when...Read MoreSeptember 4, 2009MedicinePersonalitiesRespectResponsibility
An Uncivil SeasonThis past summer, social interaction has been a disgrace. I’m talking about the lack of civility brought about by the health care debate. Among the most demonstrative was an interchange between Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank and a constituent. Holding up a picture of President Obama altered to look like Adolph Hitler, a woman asks, “Why are you supporting this Nazi...Read MoreSeptember 2, 2009Respect
What’s in a NameMost people may not recognize Carl Muscarello by name but are probably familiar with his picture. He’s the sailor kissing the nurse in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic, 1945 photograph on V-J Day in Times Square. However, Carl describes himself as, “an Italian-American kid from Brooklyn, New York who has been fortunate in that happiness in my life has come from my...Read MoreAugust 31, 2009CharacterHistoryMilitary
With Passion and PurposeIt’s curious to reflect on three moments in my life that are marked by the same question: Where were you when Kennedy died? As a high school freshman in New York, I was in the middle of learning some important but long forgotten piece of Algebra when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Our teacher, Mr. Freeman, was called out of...Read MoreAugust 27, 2009CitizenshipPersonalities
How Do We Manage Division?Recently, I found myself returning to a question I’ve asked in different forms for years: what does it actually take to hold a country together...AccountabilityCivic ResponsibilityDemocracy
The Supreme Court is Broken. How Do We Fix It?As distilled from an email update from Michael Waldman, President and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down...AccountabilityDemocracyEthicsFairnessGovernmentIntegrityJusticePersonalitiesPrincipleResponsibilitySupreme CourtTrust
Leadership as a Moral ActBritain’s King Charles III spoke to a chamber that, for a moment, set aside party labels—Democrat and Republican—and listened not as factions, but as participants...AccountabilityCitizenshipCivic ResponsibilityCompassionDemocracyGovernmentHonestyLeadershipPersonalitiesPrincipleResponsibility
Unity is Not a Declaration. It’s a Discipline.How does a country move from argument to action? The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is not an isolated event. It is part...Civic ResponsibilityDemocracy
When the Line No Longer HoldsThere are moments when events reveal more than they intend. What unfolded Saturday at the Washington Hilton was not simply an isolated act. It was...AccountabilityExtremismJournalismPersonalities
How High Can Leadership Rise?What is power accountable to when it no longer accepts limits? We have seen what happens when power turns inward—when it begins to believe it...Uncategorized