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The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting and promoting public health. As a government-appointed authority, this agency is both powerful and influential. To challenge the FDA is to put at risk one’s own reputation. Yet, risking your reputation for a greater good is the very definition of moral courage. Dr. Mehmet…
Private Danny Chen, a 19-year-old American soldier touring in Afghanistan, was found fatally shot in a guard tower. He had suffered abuse at the hands of his own comrades for several months. Chen’s death may have been a suicide, his desperate attempt to escape the bullying. Or it may have been a homicide, the result…
Matthew Lee worked at banking giant, Lehman Brothers Holdings, for over 14 years. In May 2008, he uncovered irregular accounting practices designed to conceal the dire financial state that the bank was in. As a senior vice-president in Lehman’s finance division, Lee felt responsible for raising his concerns with bank executives and with the bank’s…
In late 2011, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man asked an Israeli female soldier to move to the back of the bus, citing his religious belief in gender segregation. She decided to stay in her seat out of a commitment to civil rights for women. Society often pressures us to comply with cultural or religious requests as…
In 2012, elected officials in Cleveland, Ohio faced the daunting task of slashing the school district budget. Constituents from all over understood the need to save funds, but refused to sacrifice programs specific to their interests. Religious organizations representing Muslims, Jews and Christians had been unwilling or unable to join hands and work for all…
In Afghanistan’s countryside, a disturbing, illegal practice is spreading across the region – bacha bazi. Translated as “boy play,” bacha bazi is the sexual enslavement of pre-pubescent and adolescent boys by wealthy men. Boys that refuse to participate are often murdered. Once the victims become “too mature” to be considered desirable, they are sent home…
Daniel Zamudio, a 24-year-old Chilean, was attacked in a public square and tortured for over six hours by four young men. He was punched and kicked repeatedly, often in the head. His body was burned with cigarettes and swastikas were carved into his body with broken glass. Part of his ear was even cut off.…
At a time when U.S. politics have become increasingly partisan, there are few examples of politicians willing to cross party lines. Florida state senator Mike Fasano did just that when he voted against a bill, passed in Florida’s state legislature, in late 2011. As one of just two Republicans to vote against it, Representative Fasano…
Raphael Wugalter is a young man with moral courage. To appreciate his story, you first need to hear another story. A Canadian jury unanimously convicted businessman Mohammad Shafia, his second wife, Tooba Mohammad Yahay and their 21-year-old son, Hamad, of murder in January 2012. Sisters Zainab (19), Sahar (17), and Geeti (13), along with Mr.…
The revolution in Syria, if it will happen at all, needs far more than the overthrow of a despotic family. It needs the casting off of a mentality that many of today’s “revolutionaries” still cling to. We’ll explain in a moment. But first, some background. The so-called “Arab Spring” in Syria erupted in early 2011,…
