Ideas & Values

Wars have been fought for freedom. People have died for it. Freedom is the power to live, speak, and think as you like. Freedom manifests in a variety of ways – through speech, religion, voting – and it defines how we live our lives. It’s also complicated by an ever-shifting …

Charitable giving is an age-old practice found in every culture. For thousands of years, community members have distributed resources without expecting to be paid back. The reward comes from community-wide improvement. Today, there are millions of organizations addressing issues like poverty, food insecurity, and inadequate healthcare. Why is donating important? …

In the summer of 1215, King John met with a group of barons by the River Thames in Runnymede. The last few years had been a whirlwind. Unhappy with the nation’s direction, a group of barons rebelled. This led to the signing of the Magna Carta, also known as the …

“Law” is a system of rules designed to regulate behavior in both public and private society. Social and/or governmental institutions create and enforce these rules. Humans have been making laws for thousands of years. Early examples include ancient Egyptian law, Babylonian law, ancient Chinese law, and Old Testament law. There …

Compassion can be hard to find these days. Many fail to understand how essential kindness is to our survival and happiness as human beings. For some, compassion isn’t valuable at all. It might even be scorned. It’s seen as a weakness and opportunity to be taken advantage of. In the …

The meaning of diversity often gets muddled. It is used so frequently without a thorough explanation, it can appear to be a buzzword without clarity. In simple terms, diversity encompasses the traits that make things (including people) unique. With humans, that includes language, ethnicity, race, gender, age, and so on. …

“Philanthropy” is defined as goodwill toward other people. That includes monetary gifts, volunteering, and other humanitarian acts. Any individual or organization (like a business) can be philanthropic, though you’ll often see the term applied to corporations or wealthy people who dedicate a lot of energy and money to charitable causes. …

“Literature” is a broad term, but most people define it as writing with lasting artistic, cultural, and/or intellectual value. Literature includes ancient Greek plays, James Baldwin’s essays, and Charlotte Bronte’s novels. This type of writing deals with complex issues and ideas, encouraging readers to entertain new ways of thinking. Why …

The Renaissance painting “The School of Athens” is packed with famous faces, including Plato and Aristotle. Full of symbols, the painting is a love letter to philosophers of the past. Today, our love letters look a little different than Raphael’s masterpiece, but the world is still fascinated with philosophy. Why? …

Charity is defined as giving resources like time and money without expecting anything in return. This selfless giving serves the most vulnerable in society and helps ensure that peoples’ human rights and needs are met. Organizations built on this belief are nonprofits, which means they don’t benefit financially from donations …