We like ourselves - a lot! That’s a good thing, but there are some funny and unexpected ways it can show up.
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).
We like ourselves - a lot! That’s a good thing, but there are some funny and unexpected ways it can show up.
So many low income workers are making social distancing possible. When COVID19 ends, we owe them much more than just saying “thanks.”
Acting as if we can either save the economy or save lives is a false ethical choice. We can do both. What we may lack is the will.
Many people are confused by scientific discussions about the coronavirus. Knowing how scientists approach their work can help.
Military leaders often need to ask those under their command to sacrifice their lives. To get that kind of commitment, they must love those they lead.
We must act now to ensure that a national election in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic is fair, free, full, and viewed as legitimate.
The current pandemic highlights a threat to our democracy: the ways we have to replace the loss of key leaders are legally insufficient and could well lead to social upheaval.
Presidential judgment requires foresight, reason and prudence, especially when confronting a pandemic.
Amidst the global tragedy of COVID19, this post is offered in the hope that a bit of humor will ease the stress, if only for a brief moment.
COVID19 offers valuable lessons in how flaws in personal and national character can weaken society.
Candidates who promise to much and ask too little of us warp the political process and the American character.
People with moral courage and an understanding of the “sacred values” that matter to others can find ways to bridge the seeming chasm between “us” and “them.”
It may be natural to think in “us vs. them” terms, but that tendency can be overcome when seeing “them” as really part of “us” is good for everyone.
As humans, we have an innate tendency to think in “us” vs. “them” terms. Culture can soften or exacerbate that inclination.
Does what you wear really matter? If you care about how you are perceived, science says it does. This is not a message I wanted to hear.
The Senate handling of the trial of President Trump has further weakened Congress and the separation of powers so essential to the preservation of liberty.
The framers of the Constitution left “God” out . Their goal was to allow religion to flourish as a way to build virtue and morality in citizens.
Evidence that three administrations have been lying to the public about the war in Afghanistan has been met mostly with Congressional and public apathy. This is dangerous for our troops - and democracy.
As we enter another election year, progressives and conservatives will want us to see things their way. But rather than rest comfortably in their “correctness,” maybe they need to challenge their own thinking.
America’s current tit-for-tat approach to Iran can lead to war. Leaders of democracies need carefully developed and widely supported strategic thinking before plunging into military conflicts.