Speaking Services
Richard C. Cook is an experienced public speaker as well as a teacher and trainer. He taught history at the Field School in Washington, D.C., developed and taught training courses for the federal government, and has addressed university and professional audiences. He is available to speak to your organization on a variety of topics, which include:
- The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
- The Conscience of the Individual within Large Organizations
- The Ethics of Whistleblowing
- Economic and Social Reform, including Proposals for a Basic Income Guarantee
If you would like Richard C. Cook to speak before your organization, please contact him directly through this website.
Quotations
“The value and integrity of the individual are much more important than any collective entity to which the individual may belong, whether it is an organization, a government, a nation, a church, or any other institution. Institutions should serve and promote the growth in consciousness of the individuals it affects. Institutions should serve people, not the other way around.”
“The problem is that we think war is normal. This is wrong. War is a tragedy, no matter what the cause. It shows we have failed to solve our problems like rational creatures. Any war is a failure of our intelligence, of our goodwill, of our ingenuity, of our understanding, of our generosity. We demonize the ‘enemy’ so much that he really does become our enemy and wants to hurt us back. Then this justifies more war. You cannot stop war with war. You can stop war only through a consciousness that itself is at peace. This can happen only if we stop seeing people as ‘friends’ or ‘enemies’ but simply as human beings.”
“Our economy is based on profit. In fact, they teach people in business school that the purpose of business is to make a profit. This is a mistaken attitude. The purpose of business should be to provide goods and services of real value to other human beings. Profit is a by-product. It’s your portion of the service you provide. It’s your share of the bounty you bring as a gift to your fellow man. Profit should be based on a fair price—fair to the producer, to the consumer, to everyone involved. The fair price should be determined through open analysis, discussion, and negotiation. It should represent a social value, and that really means a spiritual value. There is no distinction between spirituality and economics. The economic life of a nation reflects its spiritual state, its spiritual attitudes.”