Anytime anyone makes a statement followed by “But,” you can throw all sincerity from the preceding statement out the window! After Rush Limbaugh apologized to Sandra Fluke for using “inappropriate words” to describe her, it didn’t take long for El Rushbo to fall back on the “B” word: “But all of the other leftists that call me and other conservatives...

There have been so many voices involved on the issue of birth control that it’s hard to separate truth from friction, but I’ll try. To begin with, the mandate to have religious-based employers provide coverage for employees as part of their health plans has its roots in what most people refer to as “Obamacare.” The legislation is actually called The Patient...

In 1938, the United States House of Representatives authorized the formation of a Special House Committee on Un-American Activities, (HUAC). The committee was charged with investigating whether there existed communists in positions of power and/or influence, not only in the government, but in American society. The long-term consequences of what has been described as a “witch hunt” have sharply divided...

In my book, What Do You Stand For?, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Assistant Secretary of Defense Dick Capen puts forth his own code which he calls his “Higher Ground Check List.” I asked my New Hampshire students to compose their own higher ground check list. Here’s a composite: – First, forgive yourself; you can’t start with too much baggage. –...

One of the things I enjoyed most in teaching ethics to an enthusiastic and dedicated group of New Hampshire students is reading the many personal stories from their papers that demonstrate a variety of ethical values. Every morning, Barry Hutchins* would leave the town of Mason to drive a little more than an hour – frequently through snow – to get...

The level of thought demonstrated in many of the papers written for the New Hampshire Technical Institute’s Contemporary Ethical Issues class co-taught by myself and Stephen Ambra was quite refreshing to see. One assignment was to compare and contrast 1950’s news media (i.e. Good Night and Good Luck) with that of today’s social media as observed in the feature film The Social Network....

“Self-righteousness has killed more people than smoking.” – John McCarthy, British Journalist During the course of a recent talk on ethics I spoke about the need to forgive; to forgive those who have not only hurt our feelings but even those who have stolen or cheated.  During the Q&A, someone asked if that forgiveness should extend to the corporate CEOs at...

Have you had a talk with your son or daughter about bullying?  Do they recognize the difference between good-natured teasing and behavior that crosses the line into bullying? Every week we hear another tragic story involving bullying or hazing either by direct encounter or the high-tech version known as cyber bullying. “Insults, name calling, relentless teasing, and malicious gossip,” ethicist...

Voltaire once said, “Common sense is not so common.” I’m sure the 18th century French writer had people who gab endlessly on cell phones in mind when he made that observation. Back in the Stone Age, when people needed to speak to someone outside the home or office, they would go to a special place away from everyone else called…...

Not long ago, I was involved in a political discussion about the extent to which the federal government should be involved in social issues. The conversation ended with a question directed at me: What’s the purpose of the Civil Rights Act? I was so stunned by the suggestion of that question that I fumbled my answer… badly. I said something like, “Well,...