It's Ethics, Stupid!
  • Home
  • About Jim
  • Archives
  • Books
  • Polls
  • Contact Jim
  • Business
  • Character
  • Courage
  • Heroes
  • Integrity
  • Journalism
  • Media
  • Medicine
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

Recent Dictatorship Commentaries

Featured image for “A Cautionary Tale: France Then, Washington Now”
A Cautionary Tale: France Then, Washington Now
Lately, I’ve been reading more history, mostly to educate myself. But the other night, I opened Lord Acton’s Lectures on the French Revolution and didn’t get far before I sat up in bed. I was reading about France two centuries ago, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the comparisons to Washington today. To be honest, most of what I remember...
Read More
June 25, 2026
  • Accountability
  • Civic Responsibility
  • Dictatorship
  • Extremism
  • Government
  • History
Featured image for “It <em>Can</em> Happen Here”
It Can Happen Here
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.—Derived from “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis This is the most prescient book I have ever read.  In 1935, Sinclair Lewis published a novel with a title that felt more like comfort than warning: It Can’t Happen Here. But the real message behind...
Read More
June 13, 2025
  • Citizenship
  • Dictatorship
  • Ethics
  • Extremism
  • Politics
  • Responsibility
Featured image for ““Controlled by a Dictatorship.””
“Controlled by a Dictatorship.”
I’ve never posted a story in its entirety from another source—until now. Last night’s 60 Minutes episode, titled “The Rule of Law,” is so vital to understanding where the country stands for both Republicans and Democrats at this moment that I feel a responsibility to share it with you in full. I could simply summarize or provide highlights, but I...
Read More
May 5, 2025
  • Dictatorship
  • Ethics
  • Extremism
  • Personalities
  • U.S. Legal System
  • violence

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
A Man of Incorruptible Integrity
Whom can we trust? Who has the credibility to lead? Integrity still matters, and there are examples worth remembering. In The Buying of Congress, Charles...
  • Courage
  • Integrity
HUMAN VALUES: NOT SPECIFIED
“We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade.”—Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s Alignment Science Lead,...
  • A.I.
  • Accountability
  • Ethics
You Can’t Do That.
BREAKING: News organizations responded forcefully on Monday after President Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. They went to federal court—and,...
  • Accountability
  • Civic Responsibility
  • Democracy
I AM SICKENED
Tonight, protesters are surrounding the Kennedy Center, the living memorial to John F. Kennedy and the heartbeat of Washington’s cultural life. They are there because...
  • Accountability
  • Extremism
The Courage to Defend a Principle
In 1998, at the height of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Secret Service Director Lewis Merletti was driving to work when a radio report stopped him cold....
  • Accountability
  • Character
  • Courage
  • Politics
  • Trust
The Better Angels Among Us
By all appearances, we are becoming less the land of the brave than the land of resentment. Every day is Groundhog Day: same arguments, same...
  • Civic Responsibility
  • Golden Rule
  • Respect

Browse Commentaries by Year

  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008

It's Ethics, Stupid!
  • Accountability
  • Art
  • Business
  • Character
  • Citizenship
  • Compassion
  • Confucius
  • Corporate Responsibility
  • Courage
  • Cynicism
  • Diogenes
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Ethics
  • Fairness
  • Finance
  • Forgiveness
  • Golden Rule
  • Government
  • Gun Safety
  • Health Care
  • Heroes
  • History
  • Honesty
  • Hope
  • Integrity
  • Journalism
  • Justice
  • Loyalty
  • Media
  • Medicine
  • Military
  • Personalities
  • Philosophy
  • Politics
  • Pursuit of Excellence
  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • The Lone Ranger
  • Tolerance
  • Trust
  • Whistleblowers

©2008-2026 Jim Lichtman
Home | About Jim | Archives | Contact Jim | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

  • Home
  • About Jim
  • Archives
  • Books
  • Polls
  • Contact Jim