Every year since 1993 the US Senate passed a bipartisan Resolution declaring National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, read USA TODAY‘s coverage of this years resolution below. Read full article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/10/13/trump-proclaims-national-character-counts-week/763727001/
Giving Thanks on Memorial Day
THANK YOU For your dedication, your duty, your unwavering loyalty and most importantly your unbelievable sacrifice. Americans have to freedom to be Americans because of you.
CREDIBILITY: Falsehoods, Mistakes & Lies
There’s a lot of loose talk lately about lying, falsehoods, and mistakes. All three significantly affect credibility, but what they say about
KEEP GETTING BETTER
– even if you think you’re good enough. BE HONEST – even when others aren’t and it may cost
Recipe for Trust by Michael Josephson
1.Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, even if it’s not what others want to hear. 2. When you make a mistake, admit it and make amends. 3. Say what you mean and do what you say, even when its costly or inconvenient.
COMMENTARY: Take Control of Your Life!
Our choices reveal our character, but more importantly they shape our character. Thus, the more aware we become of the choices we make every single day — choices about our attitudes, words, actions and reactions — the more power we have over our own destiny.
COMMENTARY: School Principal: The Most Difficult CEO Job in the Nation
Schools all over the nation are struggling to modify their strategies to meet the Common Core demands regarding critical thinking and problem solving. They must also find ways to teach 21st Century workplace skills, enhance students’ social and emotional development, and, of course, build their character so they become responsible and productive citizens. Oh, they must also be sure to create an …
COMMENTARY: Coaching for Character
I’ve spent lots of time with some of the world’s most successful coaches. I discovered that many of them think about character a lot, especially traits that are important to winning – like self-discipline, perseverance, resiliency, and courage.
COMMENTARY: What Is Character? And Why Is It Important
Here’s a riddle: You can hardly ever find it anymore — especially in politics or business. Lots of schools don’t teach it anymore. We want more of it in our children and in all the adults who interact with them. We want it from our bosses and the people who fix our cars. And most of us believe we have …
COMMENTARY 973.2: Digging and Filling Holes
Charlie, a road crew supervisor for highway landscapers, came upon a pair of workers from one of his crews seemingly hard at work. He watched one fellow dig a hole while his partner waited a few minutes and then filled the hole. After a few repetitions Charlie demanded an explanation. The hole-filler was offended: “We’ve been doing this job for …
Bonus Commentary: THE SUPREME COURT CONTROVERSY: Hiding Our Own Hypocrisy by Pretending That Politics is All About Principle.
Has the political divide become so wide that it is an unbreakable chasm? If we do not re-learn the art of accommodation and compromise all we think we are preserving by our passion will be lost — all in the name of passionately held principles. Whether a President in his last year should nominate a replacement Supreme Court Justice and …
OUTBREAK OF RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP. “All that is necessary to defeat evil is for good people to do something.”
Long ago Edmund Burke observed that “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Passive acceptance of evil is a serious social disease but there is an antidote called “doing something” and a glimmer of hope that this anti-toxin is spreading, leading to a new aphorism: “All that is necessary to defeat evil …
A Right To Do
How often do we hear someone defend against an action of wrongdoing by the claim that what they did was within the law? This defense may work n court but not at the gates of heaven. One has a right to do what is legal, that does not mean it is right to do it. The domain of ethics is …
When credibility is important (and it always is), there are no little lies
No one should take any joy in seeing the undoing of a man’s life by the bad judgment of telling what seems to be little lies. Most people, even good people, lie at least occasionally. Sometimes, as in Brian Williams case, it is a seemingly harmless embellishment or exaggeration of a story (“I caught a fish THIS BIG”). Sometimes it’s …
[VIDEO] Michael Josephson Interviewed on L.A.’s NBC News
In this interview with NBC4’s Conan Nolan, Michael Josephson looks back at 2014. Among the issues discussed: torture and the CIA, Bill Cosby, Ferguson and the NFL. As always, we welcome your response. Please post a comment below.
POSTER & QUOTE: Gandhi’s 7 Social Sins (English and Spanish)
The Seven Social Sins (Aqui esta en castellano) Wealth without work – Riqueza sin trabajo Pleasure without conscience – Placer sin conciencia. Knowledge without character – Conocimientos sin carácter Commerce without morality – Negocios sin moral Science without humanity – Ciencia sin amor a la humanidad Worship without sacrifice – Religiosidad sin sacrificio Politics without principle – Política sin principios …
The Efficacy and Morality of Brutal Interrogations and Use of Deadly Force
PAY ATTENTION! TAKE A POSITION! SPEAK UP! I believe we are at a moral crossroad. And we must think carefully before we decide which road to take. Since out founding the values of America were embodies in grand and lofty documents including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, especially the Preamble and the Bill of Rights.All of us who …
The road you take matters.
Where you go in life and whether you enjoy the trip will be determined by your choices, not your circumstances. In your work life and your personal life you will face choices not merely on what to do but on how you will react or respond to things other did. Life’s turning points are not marked and they are not …
You Can’t Lose by Relentlessly Pursuing Excellence
As I embark on a pilgrimage with my 65-year-old little brother to see the Baseball Hall of Fame, I am also frantically trying to complete a book on “The Exemplary Policing Organization.” As my two worlds collided, I got to thinking about what it means to be exemplary, to be one of the best ever at something — to be worthy of …
Eight Sentences That Changed the World: The Aspen Declaration
In July 1992, the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics hosted a 3-day summit of prominent youth leaders, educators and character education scholars in Aspen, Colorado. The result was this declaration, which provided the guiding principles for the CHARACTER COUNTS! movement that currently reaches about 8 million young people. It is clear that the eight sentences making up the Declaration is as …
Greatest Quotes on Character, Reputation and Character Education
— The most comprehensive (nearly 300 quotations) yet selective collection of insightful quotations on CHARACTER, REPUTATION &
OPTIMISTS’ CREED. Did you know there is a club devoted to the promotion of optimism? Here is their creed:
Promise Yourself To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only …
OBSERVATION: If you were given a wish from an all powerful genie as to one attribute for your children what would you choose. There are lots of candidate’s: honor, intelligence, perseverance, common sense, integrity – I want my kids to have all of this. But if I really could bestow on them one attribute I think it would be optimism.
Optimism is the most powerful of the children of positivity (experiencing the world and expressing oneself in positive terms). Its siblings: gratitude, enthusiasm, cheerfulness, hopefulness are other attitudes that not only improve the way we experience our lives, they set into motion actions and reactions that dramatically improve the likelihood of success as well as happiness. People react positively to …
OBSERVATION: Hard Times Test Our (My) Principles and Character
Life continually tests our principles and character with unanticipated twists and turns. Right now my convictions about positivity and gratitude are severely tested by economic pressures causing the nonprofit Josephson Institute to sharply reduce staff (from 32 to 16) and re-think how we can continue to pursue our mission in a world where schools have no funds for our program …
Character is Moral Strength
Character is the moral strength to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay. –Michael Josephson