A National Ethics Agenda (2004-05)
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"National Ethics Agenda" presentation.
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 Introduction
Security
and Terrorism: Are We Ethically Ready for Another Attack?
Terrorism has become such a common word that it's easy to forget how closely
it is associated with fear, an emotion that doesn't always lead to rational
decision making. Before there is another attack on the United States,
Americans need to consider how to respond in a way that is prudent, ethically
defensible, and respectful of other American values besides security.
→ Read a related article
Principles
for Humanitarian Intervention: When Should We Send in the Marines?
No country wants to stand idle while the citizens of another country are
oppressed and even killed, sometimes at the hand of their own government.
But countries are understandably wary of violating the sovereignty of
another nation with military intervention. Bystander countries, including
the United States, must shepherd their own resources and attention. No
country can intervene everywhere. What principles should guide the United
States in determining when to intervene?
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a related article
Vigorous
Political Debate or Partisan Lying: Who Owns the Truth?
In a cover story called "Blue Truth, Red Truth," Newsweek magazine
suggested that Americans have become so polarized that their perceptions
of the truth are dependent on their politics. When does a one-sided presentation
of the facts become a lie, and what effect has this heightened partisanship
had on the chance for fruitful public discourse after the election?
Our
Debt to the Future: Will Our Children Pay for the Negative Consequences
of Our Current Choices?
Every time we pass a budget that postpones payment for current services,
every time we okay development on farmland or wetlands, every time we
put off action on greenhouse gasses and emissions, we are imposing the
costs of our choices on our children. When is it appropriate to ask the
next generation to solve problems or pay bills created by our decisions?
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article
Public
Confidence and Public Contracting: Must We Accept a Pay-to-Play System?
The public contracting process is regulated by strict rules obligating
governments to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder. But the
process can be corrupted by inside deals, revolving-door lobbyists, and
"creative accounting," which undermine the public's trust in
its institutions.
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a related article
The
Future of Food: Will Genetically Modified Organisms Solve the Hunger Problem?
With hunger dogging 842 million people worldwide, some scientists, agribusinesspeople,
and policy makers are looking to genetic modifications as a way to produce
hardier, more nutritious, more abundant crops. But potential, though unknown,
long-term impacts on human health and the environment raise ethical issues
for the development of GMOs.
Behind
the Ethics Agenda
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