In the late 1980’s America seemed suddenly to become conscious of “gangs.” Down in Los Angeles, where I lived at the time, South Central and Compton were ground zero. But LA was not alone. The daily experience of the solid citizens in all major metropolitan areas changed. Young people began to dress in outlandish ways,…

(From The Christian Science Monitor) Are the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in cahoots with President Bush’s reelection campaign? Has Kerry campaign chief Mary Beth Cahill held secret meetings with MoveOn.org to plan that group’s media attack campaign? It doesn’t matter. Why not? Because the crafting of political messages is something that modern election campaigns…

The long knives have been drawn and sides chosen over Kitty Kelley’s new book that purports to uncover generations’ worth of scandal in the Bush political family. It’s now a political football, but there are far darker books on the shelves of your local bookselling conglomerate. Books you really don’t have to read. At least…

(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…