On Sunday, I went to hear Chris Hedges speak. He is the author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. A New York Times reporter, he has traveled the globe for twenty years covering war in Argentina, El Salvador, Bosnia. He spent time a few years back in Iraq. He is infamous for the commencement speech he gave at Rockford College last spring, where he ended his speech early because of the vocal opposition of the audience. (This was my week for listening to infamous authors.)

Here is one thing he said that remains with me. "The freedom to make moral choice entails risk. You must have the maturity to know the risks involved in making moral choice. To sacrifice moral choice for career advancement is to sell your soul. He went on to speak of how when one takes a moral stand, institutions will turn on one. He spoke of courage, of how his father had taken unpopular stands for civil rights in the sixties, and how that influenced him. I'm reminded of the early Christians in this. They put their lives on the line for moral choice, as have many individuals throughout history. It was a good thing to hear.