Charity, Philanthropy, Human Rights [ July 14, 2006 ]         I was in my mid teens. During a discussion with friends, the subject drifted to poverty, and I said something to the effect that charitable giving was a moral obligation.       “Giving to the needy is not a question of charity,” someone in the group […]

 THE CHARACTER EDUCATION DILEMMA Joseph B. Juhasz and Lester A. Shepard In this article we wish to deal with the predominantly conservative wing of the character education movement as represented by its most influential advocates. Character education understood in the wider sense and moral education as a whole will come under consideration mainly to sketch […]

GONDOLATOK AZ ÛRHAJÓBAN Joseph B. Juhasz és Lester ShepardI. A vezérférférfiú alkonya?  Nem akarok lenni se úr, se szolga. Hérodotosz, 3.8.32. A hetvenes évek vége felé Warren G. Bennis, a Cincinnati Egyetem rektora, hatttyúdalt énekel a nagy vezérek letûnésérõl. “Volt idõ, mikor a vezér döntött, pont. Egy Henry Ford, egy Andrew Carnegie egyszerûen ukázokat adott […]

THE NEED FOR AN ETHIC BASED ON GLOBAL CONSENSUS Commentary broadcast on KPBX Spokane Public Radio, 2/29/00 by Lester A. Shepard In Austria – the country where Hitler was born – a new political party is emerging at the polls as number one. Its charismatic leader, Haider, has openly praised the Nazis. Haider’s rise to […]

TRUTH FOR SALE – THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE INTERNET Commentary Broadcast on KPBX Spokane Public Radio 3/23/00 By Lester A. Shepard The shift from military to economic power has been one of the major salutary developments of the past fifty years. Certainly, we continue to witness regional flare-ups taking a tragic toll in human lives, […]

Commentary Broadcast on KPBX Spokane Public Radio, 5/8/01 By Lester A. Shepard If you are familiar with the controversy over the new 12-million-dollar jail in nearby Kootenai county, a recently published report might interest you. Joseph Hallinan’s “Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation” examines the rationale behind the US having a steadily increasing […]

An abbreviated version of this commentary was read on KPBX Spokane Public Radio on June 13, 2001 Recently a Coeur d’Alene high school athlete died of cardiac arrest. We know that such incidents are not uncommon. In many schools undue pressure to excel at athletics contributes to a culture of hostility and exclusion that will […]

By Lester A. Shepard Commentary Read on KPBX Spokane Public Radio 10/16/01 The recent terrorist attacks, which exceeded in scope and devastation all previous atrocities of their type, have highlighted with graphic horror the need to make peaceful civilians secure from violence. The perpetrators belonged to an organization that has cells in numerous countries, and […]

This country is the envy of the world. It has achieved virtually the highest living standards of any land. Though the distinction between standard of living and quality of life is valid, I would argue that on the whole the impact of technology has been positive. Undeniably industrialization, unsustainable development, or the opportunities for misinformation […]

Our president’s apocalyptic brand of spreading freedom and democracy throughout the galaxy, though said to rely on confidential tips from God, has so far been less than spectacularly successful. Moslem rage has been whipped up by our armed intervention; Iraq is becoming a training camp for terrorists; global public opinion condemns American unilateralism, human-rights violations, […]