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- Example or Moral Champion?
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- Carnegie Council
Created and managed by Carnegie Council Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow William Vocke, Global Ethics Corner is a weekly two minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues.
Also in the Global Ethics Corner series
Global Ethics Corner: Food for Peace?
(02:12)
From: Carnegie Council
Food for Peace, which ships American farm products to developing nations, has long been criticized for crowding out local agriculture. Now, to the dismay of the U.S. farming ...
Global Ethics Corner: Should Childhood Vaccinations Be Mandatory?
(02:05)
From: Carnegie Council
Childhood vaccination programs have been met with skepticism and hostility in the U.S. Some oppose them on religious grounds, while others worry about preservatives. Do ...
Thought Leader: Dan Ariely
(03:41)
From: Carnegie Council
"The good news is that we're figuring out some of the big mistakes people are making, and if we figure out in time, we can try to fight that and actually do things in a ...
Global Ethics Corner: Was the Boston Lockdown Justified?
(02:09)
From: Carnegie Council
As authorities searched for one of the Boston Marathon bombers, the city of Boston and its suburbs were put on lockdown. Was this action justified? Does this set a dangerous ...
Global Ethics Corner: What’s Going on in Guantanamo Bay?
(02:02)
From: Carnegie Council
With over half of the detainees on a hunger strike, tensions are worse than ever at Guantanamo Bay. Is it finally time for the United States to close this detention camp? Or ...
Thought Leader: Srdja Popovic
(02:45)
From: Carnegie Council
"There are two kinds of countries in this world, the good ones and the bad ones. The good ones I count as the countries where the governments are afraid of their people. The ...
Global Ethics Corner: Kenyan Election Controversy
(02:05)
From: Carnegie Council
After a controversial election, Kenya has inaugurated Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity, as its new president. Should Kenya, a hub ...
Global Ethics Corner: Are We Good Because of God?
(01:52)
From: Carnegie Council
A new book claiming that bonobos can feel empathy suggests that morality may be biological. If this is the case, what purpose does religion serve? Is it still a useful tool ...
Global Ethics Corner: Who Benefits Most From Wearable Computers?
(01:56)
From: Carnegie Council
Apple and Google will, reportedly, both soon be selling computers that you can wear. But will the trove of details that these devices will be able to collect be an invasion ...
Global Ethics Corner: Will China Finally Turn on North Korea?
(02:06)
From: Carnegie Council
A recent nuclear test and renewed threats from North Korea has led to new sanctions from the UN Security Council. Does this mean that China's patience with North Korea has ...
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Piece Description
Created and managed by Carnegie Council Senior Program Director and Senior Fellow William Vocke, Global Ethics Corner is a weekly two minute segment devoted to newsworthy ethical issues.
Transcript
What is the US role in the world? Afghanistan brings back this crucial question, and the choice evokes two extremes.
First, the U.S. should be a light on a hill, an example. John Quincy Adams argued, America "goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example."
Second, American values require forceful U.S. engagement, being a moral champion. Teddy Roosevelt argued, "We have become a great nation, forced by the fact of its greatness into relations with the other nations…, and we must behave as beseems a people with such responsibilities…. While ever careful to refrain from wrongdoing others, we must be no less insistent that we are not wronged ourselves. We wish pea...
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