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...

“Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” – Confucius, early Chinese teacher-philosopher One of the best (and most difficult to practice) definitions of the Golden Rule comes from former Hampton Honors College student Courtney Thompson. It’s a short, but powerful essay on what it means to live what Pastor Rick Warren would call, a “purpose-driven life.” When...

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...

The last time Elwin Wilson saw Congressman John Lewis was at the Rock Hill, South Carolina bus station in 1961. Lewis was a young civil rights protestor.  Wilson was the white bigot who beat him up. After decades of carrying the painful guilt, Wilson went to Washington to meet with the Georgia congressman. “I’m sorry for what happened, down there,”...

Continuing my conversation with Bradley James and his time spent with Mother Teresa.  Bradley talks about a side of Mother that most people never saw. “People always ask me what she was like. “We know her as this Nobel Laureate, but what she did as a woman, a Western, European woman in Calcutta, India by creating that religious order in that...

Much of the time we tend to think of compassion in terms of the extraordinary moments, events which seem removed from our daily perspective. The Dalai Lama’s story of a Tibetan monk’s compassion towards his Chinese jailers is one example. However, not long ago, I experienced a simple, yet powerful example of everyday compassion. My neighbor, Sue Adams, is funny, wise...

Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. He is both head of state (in exile) and the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He is admired and esteemed worldwide as a man who has championed policies of nonviolence. His consistent compassionate nonviolence, even in the face of great aggression, led to his receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace in...

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said, “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” In the decision regarding Susan Atkins plea for “compassionate release” based on a terminal illness, I choose compassion.  But not in the way you might think. When I first read “Manson, Murder and Mercy”...

“I formed my opinion before finishing the second paragraph.” So began one of several observations regarding my July 1st commentary about a choice before the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation concerning convicted murderer Susan Atkins:  she would either continue to serve a life sentence or be given a “compassionate release” due to a terminal illness. A June 13, Los...

Here’s your dilemma: You are an ethicist who has been asked by a prison board to offer an opinion concerning the possible release of an inmate. A notorious prisoner – convicted of multiple murders – has served almost 40 years of a life sentence.  Recently, the prisoner has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and has petitioned the board to...