Meditations

"...risk taking is probably the most defining act of an ethical life. Ethics require us to think deaply about our positions on issues, and to take principled stands as a result of those positions...By understanding that courage is not a reflex, but a consequence of knowing your own mind, determining right and wrong for yourself and acting on that understanding, you create the possibility of risk taking in the interest of the greater good. Your good and the greater good become almost synonymous..."

"...Only when we make a decision to live ethical lives, to aspire ethically, can we transform fear and our reaction to it into the reasoned resistance to the greed and exploitation that serve as a major barrier to a truly democratic society. Each ethical actions represents an ongoing commitment as we meet life's day-to-day challenges and opportunities, a readiness to assume risks in honor of self and all others."

-Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition