June 2020 Blog – On “Police Force”
How can we make sense of the last words spoken by George Floyd? With a law enforcement office kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and other officers looking on, Floyd pleaded, “please, please, please I can’t breathe, please man, please somebody…I can’t move, mama, mama, I can’t, my knee, my nuts, I’m through, I’m through, I’m […]
May 2020 Blog – On “Employment”
Following April’s 400 Years blog about the pandemic disproportionally harming communities of color, let’s acknowledge an historic lack of choice regarding employment for Black Americans. Indentured service and slavery did not allow Black workers any choice in their creation of $14 trillion dollars worth of labor in today’s dollars. After slavery, Jim Crow segregated workers of color into the least […]
Our Golden Rule
The “Golden Rule” is a collection of moral aphorisms from religion and philosophy used to promote consideration of other people. In a world desperately in need of more empathy, reciprocity, and altruistic behavior, what place should the Golden Rule have in our lives? Hugh Taft-Morales explores various versions, their effectiveness as guides to behavior, and […]
Youth Perspective on the Climate Movement
Sophia Kianni is an 18-year-old climate and environmental activist. Her passion for environmental advocacy began after she witnessed the devastating effect pollution was having on her parents’ home country, Iran. She is a national strategist for Fridays for Future and a national partnerships coordinator for This is Zero Hour. She has also joined Extinction Rebellion […]
The Meaning of Membership
Ethical Leader Hugh Taft-Morales discusses the meaning of membership and how Ethical Culture works to build relationships. This meeting of the Baltimore Ethical Society was held online via Zoom on April 26, 2020. Bio: Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its Ethical Leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the […]
Tell Me What I Need to Know
Ethical Leader Amanda Poppei of the Washington Ethical Society (WES) discusses the meaning of leadership broadly, in the current difficult situation caused by the pandemic, and then more specifically, as it relates to WES. This previously recorded platform address from WES was included as part of the BES meeting held online via Zoom on April […]
IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives
The BES online platform for March 29, 2020 featured the following platform address presented by Chris Stedman to the Ethical Society of St. Louis on February 23, 2020. What does it mean to be “real” in the digital age? As more people leave the institutions that once helped many of us find meaning and belonging—opting […]
What is Humanism?
Ethical Leader Hugh Taft-Morales discusses what it means to be Humanist. Can Ethical Culture be considered to be both religious and secular? This meeting of the Baltimore Ethical Society was held online via Zoom for the first time on March 22, 2020 due to COVID-19. Bio: Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its […]
April 2020 Blog – On “Coloring the Pandemic”
During these difficult times we are all struggling. Those in relatively comfortable circumstances might say, “We’re all in this together. After all, the coronavirus is blind, right? It’s an equal opportunity killer, right?” Personally, I can socially distance, shelter-in-place, and telework. No problem. My white collar job allows me to avoid possibly contaminated public transportation. […]
Community Land Trusts (2019-09-24)
On September 24, 2019, United Workers organized an event at 2424 McElderry St. to promote awareness of community land trusts and to show support for land trusts at a meeting of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) Commission. The first part of the event was a tour of green space and housing managed by Charm […]
