Photo: geckoremWe are in the midst of a national miasma in which the federal government and Wall Street in particular are considered practically vile.
I am sure this will change — either when these institutions improve themselves or when the public moves on to another target.
It is easy to assail institutions because they are so — well, institutional. Large, sometimes faceless, probably richer than you, perhaps impenetrable, etc.
It isn’t hard to think of a lot of institutions that in just the past few years have been roundly called out: the media, organized religion, Hollywood, etc.
So what I’m asking is this: What’s an institution that you admire? And, more important, why?
It might be the small nursery school where you send your kids, or the university you attend; it might be an anti-poverty group or a political-action group where you volunteer.
I am just interested in hearing (for a change of pace) about the institutions that are doing right by people, that stick to their missions (or create better ones), that behave responsibly and creatively, or whatever else you have to say.
Maybe we’ll turn one of the most interesting suggestions into a JungleSmash campaign.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Partners In Health
Berkshire-Hathaway
University of California system
In-N-Out Burger
Nordstrom
Costco
Ford
The Boy Scouts – this organization continues to encourage so many basic values I believe in and they have put forth a lot of effort to weather the storms of moral relativism that assail them…and they get to play with knives and fire.
PBS
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I admire any institution – only relatively flawless things can be admired, while real things are generally flaw-ful, so admiration likely indicates only a superficial acquaintance.
That said, I would add that Microsoft has been at the forefront of responsible software development in the past 5 years. While other software companies have continued to ignore security and robustness, and have only slowly let themselves be badgered into adopting slightly more responsible development practices, Microsoft has put a lot of effort into getting right the things that are hard to get right, while shrugging off flak from people who don’t understand the value.
I think that has been underappreciated.
Oh, oh – Wal-Mart, too. For getting things right, for minimizing costs and maximizing efficiency at the greatest scale. For resisting populist idiocy and (so far) successfully fending off attempts to cripple them.
#10: The Boy Scouts? Seriously? They’re one of the most openly biggoted organizations I can think of.
Or, is that perhaps what you meant when you said that they “weather the storms of moral relativism” ?
The USPS. Although their employees are sometimes disgruntled, I still think it’s fascinating that they can deliver a letter to anywhere in the US for $0.42.
I admire Wikipedia.org in their efforts to support free and open information, a great investment in human capital around the globe.