A few years ago I spoke at a fundraising dinner for the Erika Whitmore Godwin Foundation, the creation of Susan and Wendell Whitmore, a couple who transformed their personal mountain of sorrow into a living monument to their daughter Erika who died in the prime of her life. The Whitmores created a website, www.griefHaven.org, to help parents and others maimed …
COMMENTARY 764.5: Being Right or Being Kind
Watching parents struggle to keep their young children quiet on a recent plane trip reminded me of how stressful traveling was a few years ago when my kids were really young. My wife Anne and I would do everything we could to keep our kids from annoying other passengers, but no matter how hard we tried, one would always scream …
COMMENTARY 764.4: Don’t Miss the Chance
A listener got me thinking about the challenge of dealing with aging parents who become more and more needy and the conflicts one is bound to feel. It motivated me to write this poem: Don’t Miss the Chance They said I was lucky my mom lived near, But she was pretty old and it wasn’t so clear.
COMMENTARY 764.3: Eight Laws of Leadership
Take a look around. Business, education, politics. If there’s one thing we don’t have enough of, it’s good leaders – men and women who have the vision and the ability to change things for the better. Former Air Force General William Cohen wrote a fine book called The Stuff of Heroes in which he identified eight laws of leadership. Here …
COMMENTARY 763.4: Being Basically Honest
After a workshop, a fellow came up to me and complained that I had made him feel uncomfortable. “I’m not perfect,” he said, “But I’m basically honest.” His implication was that it’s unfair to expect people to be honest all the time. His comment reminded me of a cartoon where one fellow confided to another, “I admire Webster’s honesty, but …
QUOTES: All About Courage — 64 Great Quotes on the Nature of Courage
The Josephson institute is a nonprofit organization that depends on contributions from people like you. Please help us make a more ethical society or simply show your gratitude for whatever value you find in our work by making a tax-deductible donation at http://goo.gl/uUAix See Images of and Words of Courage here. QUOTES ON COURAGE Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human …
WORTH READING: Political Courage and Integrity – Profiles in Courage
In 1956, Profiles in Courage, written by John F. Kennedy, the junior senator from Massachusetts. was published. The book won the Pulitzer prize for biography. There is substantial controversy as to whether Senator Kennedy, who was elected President in 1960, was the true and sole author of the book and the circumstances surrounding the winning of the Pulitzer Prize. I address …
WORTH READING: Rampant cheating in schools
According to the 2010 Josephson Institute Report Card of American Youth, a survey of more than 40,000 high school students, a majority of students (59 percent) admitted cheating on a test during the last year, with 34 percent doing it more than two times. One in three admitted they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment. On lying, more than two …
OBSERVATION: The Perfect Boyfriend
The perfect boyfriend. Someone whose heart beats faster when he sees you, thinks of you as beautiful instead of hot, calls you back when you hang up on him, will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for a young man who will kiss away your tears, and …
OBSERVATION: What Love Is and Is Not
Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not
QUOTES: 25 of the Most Profound Things Abraham Lincoln Ever Said.
Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound …
COMMENTARY 762.1: Self-Control
A frazzled mother with a fussy child caught the eye of a grocery store manager. He overheard her say, “Lily, you can do this. We just have to get a few things.” Moments later, when the child became more upset, the mother said calmly, “It’s okay, Lily. We’re almost done.”
OBSERVATION: Start With Yourself
Notes From an Unknown Source: When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried …
COMMENTARY: Cheerfulness: A Conscious Act of Kindness 761.5
My mother died of cancer when I was 18. The disease was detected a year earlier during her pregnancy with her sixth child. On the day she delivered, both breasts were removed. During her illness, our household became increasingly gloomy. It’s hard to watch someone you love get sicker and sicker. But my mom was always a pleasure to be …
COMMENTARY: Teach Or Punish, That Is the Question 761.4
As Greg paces the floor, waiting for his 17-year-old daughter Sandy to return from a school event, he feels two conflicting emotions: fear and anger. Fear that something terrible has happened to her. Anger because he thinks his fear is probably unfounded and Sandy is not hurt, simply irresponsible. Finally, Sandy calls. She’s all right. She just lost track of …
OBSERVATION: You don’t have to be sick to get better.
One of the greatest obstacles to improvement is ego. If the idea of getting better — learning new ways to do things, new strategies to deal with people, new ways to motivate ourselves — is thought of as an implicit criticism that we weren’t good enough before, we are likely to reject it. That you are a better parent, manager or person …
COMMENTARY: Understanding Gratitude: Gifts From the Heart
According to legend, a young man roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey, he presented the water to the old man, who took a deep drink, smiled warmly, …
WORTH SEEING: Poster – “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” The loving words of encouragement by a maid/nanny to the little girl constantly berated by her mother in the movie “The Help.”
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COMMENTARY: Hurrah for Hollywood! This Year’s Crop is Rich in Films that Inform, Move and Inspire 759.3
I know I’m out of my depth as a movie critic, but I am venturing into this new territory because there’s so much criticism about Hollywood that we don’t always give ample credit for the substantial number of truly wonderful movies that teach, move, and inspire, as well as entertain. And from my narrow perspective as an ethicist, I am grateful …
COMMENTARY: Good Ethics is More Than Good Business 759.2
Ethics is a popular topic at corporate meetings today because managers correctly see the benefits. Good things tend to happen to companies that consistently do the right thing, and bad things tend to happen to those that even occasionally do the wrong thing. Being ethical is playing the odds. Ethical companies have a competitive edge because people prefer to deal …
COMMENTARY: How to Change Attitudes and Behavior — “I Can Do It and It’s Worth It.” 758.6
In yesterday’s commentary, I talked about a teacher named Shavonne who was at wits end with several students, including Leon, whose lack of self-control when he became angry or frustrated constantly created trouble. She was certain that nothing short of intense therapy could change his behavior. Changing Leon’s behavior will be a challenge, but it has to start with changing …
WORTH READING: “Michael’s words have changed my world and I have transcended his words into my actions.” — Essay contest winner Jim Uhl , police officer and professor
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Jim Uhl. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times; …
WORTH READING: “‘The road to achievement and fulfillment is dotted with hazards and tragedies that can wound us, frighten us, and slow us down. But afflictions and misfortunes can stop us only if we surrender.’ These words by Michael Josephson made me courageous!” – Essay contest winner Denise Osier-Bell, teacher for at-risk kids in Reseda, California
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Denise Osier-Bell. I left the Sheriff’s Department to go back to college to …
WORTH READING: “Think about what kind of family you are going to be.” — Essay contest winner Pat Chambers, La Crenta California Presbyterian Center for Children
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Pat Chambers. I can’t remember the exact year, but I remember the experience. I …
WORTH READING: “There is no radio broadcaster who has had a greater impact on my life than Michael Josephson.”– Essay contest winner Suzanne Carter, high school teacher
In the fall, about 80 listeners to Michael Josephson’s radio commentaries submitted essays describing how his daily messages affected their lives. Ten finalists were selected, and a vote of readers of Michael’s newsletter and this blog selected the winners. Here is the entry of one of the five winners, Suzanne Carter. There is no radio broadcaster who has had a greater impact …
COMMENTARY: Changing Self-Limiting Beliefs and Bad Behavior 758.5
Shavonne, a third-grade teacher, was at the end of her rope with disciplinary problems, but she wasn’t enthusiastic when she was told that her school had adopted the CHARACTER COUNTS! program. Now she was expected to explicitly seek to instill and enhance in her students core ethical values like honesty, respect, and responsibility, and to help them develop positive social …
COMMENTARY 758.4 CHANGING THE WORLD ONE BITE AT A TIME
About twenty-five years ago, I founded the Joseph & Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics in honor of my parents because I wanted to change the world for the better. My goal and strategy to achieve change is captured in a short mission statement: “To improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal and organizational decision making and behavior.” I …
COMMENTARY: Living a Life That Matters 757.1
I saw a cartoon showing an old king checking in at the gates of heaven. He introduced himself as “Edward The Good.” The gatekeeper with a large book in front of him said, “Well, Eddie, we’ll be the judge of that.” The point is that, in the end, generous self-appraisals won’t matter. Our epitaphs will be written and eulogies delivered …
COMMENTARY: A Mother’s Message About Bullying: Hang in There. It Will Get better. 756.5
While researching the bullying issue for a CHARACTER COUNTS! seminar, I came across Vicky Bell’s blog, where she posted a letter to her daughter in college. I think her advice moving and wise. Here’s an abridged version: Hello my girl. . . You may have heard about the NJ college student who killed himself because his roommate posted a videotape …