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).
The focus of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on cutting budgets and staff ignores the question of how those cuts will impact the effectiveness of the programs that remain.
Amidst Joe McCarthy’s attacks on public servants for unsubstantiated ties to communism, Senator Margaret Chase Smith rose to remind colleagues about the dangers of fear, ignorance, bigotry and smears.
The framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure the president did not become too powerful. That’s not where we are today - and we need to be careful.
The rule of law, essential to a healthy American democracy, is under severe strain.
How we treat illegal immigrants whose removal is sanctioned by law tests whether we abide by religious precepts to honor the dignity of strangers.
Benjamin Rush was ahead of his time in thinking about many issues, from treatment of the mentally ill to the education of women to the need to abolish slavery.
The President and Senate must honor their Constitutional roles to assure those names to high office have the character and competence to safeguard democracy.
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.
