The deadliest plague ever to hit mankind killed between 30-50 million people during the 6th century AD—nearly one half of the Earth’s population (Times of Malta, January 28, 2014). “Some 800 years later, the Black Death wiped out 50 million Europeans between 1347 and 1351” (ibid.).

“In late January, California officials, for the first time in the 54-year history of the State Water Project, announced they were cutting off the flow of water from the northern part of the state to the south, affecting both farms and cities… This as California’s Central Valley, producer of half of America’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts, is experiencing its worst drought on record” (Christian Science Monitor, February 19, 2014).

Following a year-long investigation, UN investigators recommend “North Korean security chiefs and possibly even Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un himself should face international justice for ordering systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities” (Reuters, February 18, 2014).

“The concept of gender-neutral parenting first became popular among feminists in America during the 1970s” yet, it is still around (Daily Mail, February 14, 2014). One U.K. couple is raising their son as both a boy and a girl—leaving the ultimate determination of his gender identity to him. His 23-year-old stay-at-home mom commented “‘If Max wants to wear a pink tutu and fairy wings, then he can’...

We have all been told we “ought to do” this and we “ought not to do” that. Why? Usually it is because those doing the telling know of the consequences or potential consequences for not performing the right action. But who determines what “ought or ought not” to be done, particularly concerning moral issues?