One of the things I like most about the writing of conservative columnist Peggy Noonan is the way she engages both the intellect and the emotions.  Nowhere is that more evident than in an essay about President Ronald Reagan.  Noonan was Reagan’s speech writer, and looking back at many of those speeches it’s easy to see how effectively the Great...

There’s a scene early in the film Bull Durham where the Kevin Costner character is being sized up by the Susan Sarandon character. She’s making a choice between two minor league ball players as to whom she’ll guide and girlfriend throughout the season. Up to this point, Sarandon – by virtue of her charismatic charm, not to mention an incredible body –...

There’s a scene late in the film The Emperor’s Club when William Hundert, a teacher who believes that character is the path to true success, dispenses a final lesson to an errant student. “All of us, at some point,” Hundert tells an older but no wiser Sedgewick Bell, “are forced to look at ourselves in the mirror and see who we really...

Most 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...

Sitting in a Chinese restaurant, I remember opening a “fortune cookie” which read:  Confucius say… Wealth and renown gained without honor are nothing but drifting clouds. More than 2,500 years later, the Chinese philosopher and social thinker would probably laugh to discover that much of his wisdom has been distilled and tweaked to fit inside the modern invention of a cookie which...

A weekend conversation with a friend prompted the following: “Why be ethical?  What’s the payoff?” The standard fall-back:  “Virtue is its own reward.” Another might be the adage by Louis Armstrong when asked the definition of Jazz: “If you have to ask… you’ll never know.” The reality is that most of us face issues that challenge our ethical integrity on a regular basis.   » Read...

Halfway through the Jim Carrey movie, The Majestic, the story takes a sharp turn away from romantic comedy to a drama that examines one man facing a moment of principle. Blacklisted writer Peter Appleton must choose between reading a pre-arranged statement that provides a list of communist sympathizers or take a stand against the Committee on Un-American Activities and stand for the second amendment.  » Read...

You’re facing a crisis. “Know what you can control and what you can’t.” People challenge and criticize you. “Refrain from defending your reputation and intentions.” Some people use harsh language and bombast. “Conduct yourself with dignity.” If you’re looking for the calm while working your way through a great storm, the ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus just might be the...

Last weekend’s Wall Street Journal ran an essay entitled, In Praise of Transgressions by Joe Queenan. Without condoning the very public offenses of Tom Daschle, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps and others, Mr. Queenan posits the notion that rather than look upon the destructive actions of high-profile individuals as bad behavior, we should instead, embrace these events as a kind of psychotherapy: “…we...

Jennifer Westbrook is a graduate from Hampton University’s Honors College who loves the music of Miles Davis and the writings of Frederick Douglass. Her story of respect is a timely reminder of the importance of recognizing the dignity of others. “A homeless man sat alone on a park bench amongst the horde of people in the park. No one sat on the...