Honesty in Government
Mr. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, released an ad this week in which he says that government needs honesty. Well – not quite. Mr. Obama said the country needs honesty when it comes to talking about Social Security. Honesty, claims Mr. Obama, is the only way to fix the system.
Character in Presidential Campaigns
“Character doesn’t matter,” a previous U.S. presidential candidate quipped nearly 20 years ago. It seems his words were taken to heart. As the world listens to and watches current campaigns, a number of candidates are showing that they believe his statement. The economy matters. The immigration issue matters (though not
Is Character Lacking in Political Figures?
Let me begin by saying that this is not intended as an analysis of every political figure. Just as each one has distinctive physical features, so each has distinctive moral features. The question is this: Do the majority of our political figures model moral excellence or something less? Governor Spitzer
Character Can Be Legislated – and Is
Character can be legislated, and is in most civilized societies, despite the widespread belief that “you can’t legislate character”. Some readers will be quick to scoff, “Well sure, a theocracy can legislate character.” Yes, it can, and I believe non-theocratic governments also can, and do, legislate a degree of character.
Character Counts – In the Courts
Chief Justice Earl Warren once said, “The man of character, sensitive to the meaning of what he is doing, will know how to discover the ethical paths in the maze of possible behavior.” I understand what Chief Justice Warren was saying, but I would go two steps further. I believe
Character Counts in Confirmation Hearings
Our President nominated a new judge to take a seat on the Supreme Court – highest court in our land. The nomination of Judge Alito met with immediate, polarizing cries: “Too radical!” “Terrific nominee!” The media proclaimed: “Political fight expected!” Is this what our founding fathers foresaw when they established
Character in Action Includes Cooperation
The nomination of a new judge, which I discussed yesterday will be in the news for many weeks, and while I don’t intend to follow every twisted thread of the story, I was caused to run through the list of character traits as suggested yesterday, and consider how awesome it
Good Character Impacts Political Correctness
Consider this: How does the exercise of good character impact political correctness? It does, of course. Good character impacts every decision we make during any given day – and it definitely impinges on the territory of political correctness. There’s an example in today’s news that, although it comes from the
Character Building Prevents “Profound Malaise”
President Jacques Chirac said, this week, that extended violence in France is the sign of a “profound malaise” among his country’s troubled youth. Clicking over to the “Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary” to be sure I was on the same page as the French president, I found two possibilities for “malaise.” The
“He Is a Man of Enormous Character”
This is what President Bush said when nominating Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. What did he mean? What do any of us mean when we say that a certain individual is a man of character or a woman of character? Better questions might be, “How does the listener or
