(From the July 28, 2004 Washington Post) The recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts that reveals a precipitous drop in book reading among Americans has many wringing their hands. But the trend is nothing new, and its increased intensity over the past decade is only minor. We are a nation of people…

(Also appeared in The Christian Science Monitor [pdf here]) Among certain opinion-makers, it is fashionable to talk about how “bankrupt” the division between left and right is, pointing out that it is the “middle” of America that holds the key to the future. Others stress the polarization between “red” and “blue” America, saying that in…

Often, when we think of career-ending ethical lapses, brash young people come to mind. We think of people such as Nick Leeson, the Barings Bank rogue trader who single handedly brought down England’s oldest financial institution. Or Jayson Blair, the relatively young reporter on the rise at the New York Times, who fabricated stories and…

(From the April 5, 2004 edition of The Christian Science Monitor) If you’re someone who believes the right wing has more “opinion leader” outlets than it can shake a stick at, and that the left has done a dismal job of keeping up, these are heady times indeed. The new “liberal radio station,” Air America,…

Last month Montgomery County, Maryland high school students were let out of school early and offered community service course credit for attending a rally to press for more education funding. There were two small pieces on it in the local weekly paper. Such news stories typically get short shrift. Even the editorial decrying what it…

The man over at the edge of the room had the look on his face that people get when they really need to say something. He raised his hand. “We need to remember,” he said, “that as public leaders we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard.” I was in Charlottesville, Virginia with the…

My daughter is an animal person; has been ever since she discovered them. She loves farms, pet stores, the pound, and the zoo. So I have been closely following the sad spectacle at the National Zoo. Management has fallen victim to a classic nonprofit ethics trap, one to which all mission-driven organizations are prone: they…