A number of years ago, Tim Shriver was talking about the Dignity Index to a big figure in the media industry. The man listened politely to our plans for reducing contempt and then said, “Good luck. You’re up against a two trillion-dollar industry.”

Yesterday, September 2nd, was the symbolic end of the summer and the return to work. Of course, for the vast majority of us, work didn’t stop in July or August. But nonetheless, the Tuesday after Labor Day feels different. The calendar turns, the days shorten, and we’re back to work.

If you’re a regular reader of our newsletter, you know that our team takes turns reporting on our experiences and work in building the dignity movement. And you’re likely accustomed to my messages, which are most often sparked by insight and inspiration I’ve received while traveling and meeting new people across the country who are engaged with the Dignity Index.

I want to tell you two favorite stories of mine, and they’re favorites because of the goodness in them. They’re snapshots of people in the upper reaches of the Dignity Index – at SEVEN and EIGHT, where we see human beings at their best.  

I don’t know about you, but a huge amount of the news I get includes stories about AI. AI is going to make everything more efficient, eliminate millions of jobs, supercharge military threats, write our term papers, dismantle our identities, undermine our capacity to find truth, cure diseases, and be our therapists.

“How are we going to go deeper?”

That was the question on Rosalie McVay’s mind after several years of leading a discussion group for women to form bonds across race, religion, and geography in an Illinois town outside of Chicago.

It’s hard to overstate the feeling of excitement of going to India for the first time. Even if it’s for just a few days, you’ll be working most of the time, and you’re nervous that jet lag might play havoc with all your good intentions.

If there’s a group of people who embody what we call “the starving majority” of Americans who are exhausted by division and contempt, it’s our school leaders.

A couple of years ago, I was coming home from work in a fantastic mood, just floating on a wave of goodwill, when I found myself crossing the street at a corner. When I was in the middle of the street, the driver of a car that had inched past the crosswalk took his foot off the brake to make a right turn, and his car started backing toward me.

My colleague, Meghan Monroe, a former teacher and trainer in the Dignity Index, went out to lunch with a friend on the 4th of July. Her friend was late and Meghan found herself waiting outside the restaurant where, to her surprise, a protest march approached.

June has been a busy month for our Dignity Index team, with presentations and workshops stretching from Arizona, Utah, and Chicago, to Virginia, Maryland, New York City, and Rhode Island. And India (!) – where my colleague Alicia Burke and I traveled to lead a series of workshops with corporate leaders in Ahmedebad.

Last week, I gave a talk about our dignity movement to a conference of higher education leaders. I shared our core beliefs: that how we treat each other is the new issue of our time, that the Dignity Index helps us see that we’ve all become more contemptuous than we realize, and that with a little effort and new skills, we can all do better.  

Occasionally, a tragedy can wake us up and change our path. Perhaps, the political assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman in Minnesota on Saturday can make us see what we’ve been denying – that political language can lead to violence.

Last week, my childhood home was recommended for historic status in Montgomery County, Maryland. But that’s not because I lived there from the age of 2 to 21. It’s because the worldwide Special Olympics movement was founded there, in the backyard of our home.

A few months ago, after I had presented the Dignity Index to a group of people who work with at-risk teenagers, a woman asked to speak to me out in the hallway, away from the group.

Cadets in the United States Military Academy at West Point are encouraged to live by the motto, “Duty, Honor, Country.” We at the Dignity Index are thrilled that a group of seniors added “Dignity” to the list of values studied this year for a class project that became so much more than academic work – for us and the future Army leaders. 

Most Americans dislike like the culture of contempt. So, why is it growing?   

Because we dislike it as individuals, but it grows as a culture.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, expectant mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, mother-like aunts, self-mothers (I just learned that term), and everyone who takes the time to be like a mother to anyone who needs a mother.

When I was in 8th grade, my junior high school librarian invited my class to write a short paper on life goals – basically, what did we want to be when we grew up?

Pope Francis, who died just hours after he celebrated the great feast of Easter with believers all over the world, was a man who inspired many of us who believe in the power of dignity.