Terry Newell is currently director of his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society. His work focuses on values-based leadership, ethics, and decision making. A former Air Force officer, Terry also previously served as Director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and as Dean of Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute. Terry is co-editor and author of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press, 2011). He also wrote Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and To Serve with Honor: Doing the Right Thing in Government (Loftlands Press 2015).
As one year closes and another is about to be born, may these treasures of music and dance bring you joy in sharing what people can bring to each other.
Young people are not learning enough about civics to assure they can handle the responsibility they will have for the future of democracy.
After the nasty presidential campaign of 1800, Thomas Jefferson emerged victorious. In his inaugural address, he encouraged the nation to heal their divisions and recall what they shared.
Partisan political hatreds stoked by politicians and social media close our minds to the possibility that some of what we think of the opposition is wrong.
Fred Rogers, a friend to America’s children for nearly four decades, acknowledged their feelings to help them on the way to becoming healthy adults.
Extreme partisanship and gerrymandering mean the views of a much of the population get ignored, damaging faith in representative government.
Sound judgment is essential in a president. Voters must consider if a candidate has it and not be swayed by surface attributes of presidential campaigns.
Most voters are very tied to their candidates. Changing their minds is possible but not easy.
Sarah Winnemucca, a fierce advocate for her Paiute people, bridged the gaps of culture and gender essential for the fight for Native American justice.
Character is essential in those who aspire to presidential leadership. Without it, democracy suffers.
Partners in marriage are going to argue because people differ. Learning how to have good fights can make a marriage stronger.
As we prepare to celebrate Constitution Day, we should recall why the nation's founders feared democracy - and what we must do to reap its benefits and avoid its dangers.
Shunning a lucrative medical practice, Dr. Joseph Kramer traded an easy life for a much more fulfilling one, living his Hippocratic Oath through his character.
"Touchy-feely" people are said to be overly focused on emotions. But emotions are central to good relationships, so these people have something to teach us.
Society can be stronger if leaders can admit they are wrong, but we often make that very hard for them to do.
Political arguments often result from people who see different versions of reality but are convinced theirs is the only accurate one.
Voluntarily relinquishing political power is rare in American history. George Washington did it - twice.
Formal efforts to stop the viral spread of disinformation have had limited success. The best antidote is citizens who think critically.
Efforts at fact-checking fake news fight an uphill battle against the flood of disinformation.
The attack by Confederate forces on Fort Sumter in 1861 was preceded by miscalculations on both sides, the result of thinking mistakes still common today.
