My granddaughter, Isla, 5 years old, was sitting in front of the altar at church with her brother Francis, 7, who was about to receive his first communion. The priest was giving a short homily about the meaning of communion for the children when he asked, “Why do you think it says in the Bible that we need our ‘daily bread’?”

It’s beyond humbling to share the Dignity Index with passionate leaders from the Middle East living the reality of war. It reoriented me. And discussing what Dignity looks like when engaging with people who think just the opposite of you, especially when the stakes feel existential and urgent, requires an unlimited combination of courage, imagination, practicality, and more than a little humor—traits that were on full display by the leaders we met with last week in Greece.

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV released his first major teaching as Pope, an encyclical (or letter) entitled “Magnifica Humanitas,” or “Magnificent Humanity.” The topic? AI. The insight? Humanity is magnificent, not technology. The warning? We should all be worried. The advice? Disarm AI! 

In this space of our newsletter, we often talk about treating others with dignity. But you can’t truly honor someone else’s dignity unless you also honor your own. 

I don’t know anyone who isn’t trying to figure out how to limit and manage their smartphones. Doom scrolling, constant contempt, and endless distraction are tearing us apart. I’m reminded of the old TV series, “Get Smart,” where agent Maxwell Smart used his shoe for a phone. If only we all had to keep our phones in our shoes!

I’ve been spending time recently poring over old photos and scrapbook items in an attempt to organize decades of memories. As I read through a stack of newspaper clippings from my time in local public service, this letter to the editor caught my eye.

Over the last few days, I’ve found myself wanting to change many things. That urge overtakes me every time there’s political violence. When I was a kid and felt the sting of sudden horrific losses, I didn’t have the words to express myself. But I did long for things to be different.  

What is dignity?  

Can we see it in a laboratory, in an X-ray, in a brain scan?

Can we measure it, track it, manipulate it, or run tests on it?

How do we know what we claim to know – that violating dignity tears people apart, that honoring dignity can bring us back together?

In 1960, President-elect John F. Kennedy asked my Dad to create the Peace Corps.

For the following 4 years, my dad met with world leaders to ask them to welcome Peace Corps Volunteers, championed the power of young people to be peacemakers at home, built a broad bipartisan political coalition to support service to our country, and worked tirelessly to fulfill President Kennedy’s vision of a freer world.

For the past three weeks, I’ve spent more time on the road than at home—traveling across the country, speaking to groups about the Dignity Index, and inviting them to join the dignity movement. The travel can be exhausting, but the work is energizing. I feel lucky to engage with people who are working to heal divides in their communities, schools, workplaces, and families.

When I called Charlamagne tha God, the long-time host of “The Breakfast Club,” to share the new findings from the first-ever Dignity Barometer, he listened for a minute to the numbers. I told him that 94% of Americans believe we should treat each other with dignity. “Isn’t that amazing?” I said. “We’re always told that we are far apart on everything, but the Barometer proves we’re actually totally aligned on dignity.”  

In our first annual Dignity Barometer, Americans voice broad agreement: There is an urgent new issue in our country that’s almost as important to them as the cost of living: how we treat each other.  

When I visited West Point 18 months ago to teach cadets about our work in the dignity movement, I was worried that my message would be controversial.  

I found the opposite. The students welcomed me and were fascinated by the Dignity Index.

A few days ago, I was reading the Metro section of the Washington Post and saw a quote from Tami Pyfer. What?! It was an article about a public hearing in Takoma Park, about five miles from my house. What was my Dignity Index colleague, Tami Pyfer, a native of Utah, saying about my neighboring town?

“I don’t want to die young.”

Those were the words of Lucas Haase, a West Point cadet who was invited to address the National Governors Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C. last week. He was at the conference hall with 11 classmates who’d come to D.C. as part of their study of political science. His audience included governors from more than 20 states, corporate leaders, and nationally prominent journalists.

Some of my earliest lessons about dignity came from learning how to work through moments of feeling different—like I didn’t belong.

Growing up in rural Montana, my church congregation was small, with few kids my age.

Sports are in the headlines this week with both Super Bowl LX and the Winter Olympic Games grabbing attention around the world. Bad Bunny may have stolen the show at the Super Bowl, but for my Patriots, it was just plain bad! I’d rather talk about the Olympics!

I have a friend who’s a Trump supporter, and I recently sent him something I’d written about Minneapolis and asked him what he thought. He asked me why I wanted his views, and I said that I was trying to write something about our country that amounts to more than me talking to me—or to people who agree with me. 

The emails from my colleagues started buzzing after the news of the murder of Alex Pretti was announced. The subject line told the whole story: “I am not ok.”

In our toxic political environment, with leaders feeling increasing pressure to demonstrate strength by “fighting fire with fire,” evidence continues to point to the contrary: that leading with dignity is the way forward.