Best Thoughts Ever on Truth and Trustworthiness

Truth Matters. Trustworthiness Matters. Truth matters and it’s your moral responsibility to find it. Trustworthiness matters and it’s your moral duty to insist on it. Never in my lifetime has truth been more important or more elusive. Though hard to find, within every mountain of careless claims, unsubstantiated assertions, fallacious reasoning and outright lies there are true facts and credible …

Best Thoughts Ever on the Essentials of Ethics Education

Whether one calls it values education, moral education, character education or ethics education, the goal is to help young people develop sustainable attitudes, beliefs and habits that translate into personal integrity, moral strength and, most of all, positive behaviors. The Need for Moral Judgment: While there are many ways to approach ethics education, effective methods must emphasize the importance and …

Best Thoughts Ever on the Power of Character: Part 1

Suppose you saved the life of a leprechaun, and in gratitude, he said he would give the man your daughter will marry one exceptional quality of your choosing. This man could be very smart, enormously rich, remarkably good-looking, unusually strong and athletic, highly creative and artistic, or singularly competent — or he could possess extraordinary character. What would you choose? Now suppose …

Best Thoughts Ever on Generosity and Gratitude: The Gift of Water

Long ago a young man crossing a desert came upon a spring of cool, crystal-clear water. The water was so delightful he thought how much his grandfather Saul would love it, so he filled his leather water bag. After a two-day journey he presented the water to Saul who immediately drank from the canteen and with a look of pride …

Best Thoughts Ever on Christmas: Giving the Heart of Christmas

In her book “Gifts of the Heart”, Betty Youngs tells of a man who read an appeal in his church bulletin to gather food, gifts and toys to help a church family have a better Christmas. The man, I’ll call him Jim, whose own family was struggling, pointed to the bulletin and told his wife, “We must help.” So, the …