Last March, my 88-year-old mother, Marion, moved to a senior living community exactly one mile from us.
It’s been decades since she and I lived this close to one another, and I was realistic enough to think it would be an adjustment.

Much of the growth in our work here at UNITE has been happening in the K-12 education space. Teachers and school leaders across the country are asking how they can uphold and promote the value of dignity within our schools.

President Lincoln, who we celebrate today, delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865. Speaking to a divided nation in the midst of the bloody civil war, Lincoln famously ended his 7-minute speech by inviting his country to adopt the qualities necessary for healing:

At this polarized moment in U.S. politics, the University of Utah and Project UNITE have joined forces to make political and public discourse more productive.

Over the last week, our team at the Dignity Index has been asked one question over and over again: “Is treating someone on the other side with dignity a sign of weakness? Isn’t dignity really an excuse for cowardice?”

Recent media attention has raised curiosity about the Dignity Index – our eight-point scale that measures how we treat each other when we disagree.

Did you know that there’s national Quitter’s Day? Observed on the second Friday in January, it marks the point where 80% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions.

Last week while meeting with a group of education leaders in Seattle I heard the same questions I’ve come to expect after a workshop on the Dignity Index: 

The devastation caused by the recent fires in Los Angeles has been heartbreaking. The loss of life and property, and the grief that so many are experiencing, remind us of the vulnerability of everything in life.

As we prepare to close the final pages of 2024 – reflecting on successes and disappointments; challenges and surprises – I’m also preparing to close a chapter of my life which began nine years ago. One that has brought me immense growth and satisfaction. 

If you’re like me and millions of Americans, you’re on the move for the holidays. I set off last weekend to meet 4 of my 5 children (Sam sadly has to work), their two spouses, my wife, my 4 grandchildren and more than a dozen cousins.

As they do each December, Merriam-Webster recently announced its word of the year. “Polarization” is the selection for 2024, which their dictionary defines as “division into two sharply distinct opposites.”

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a remarkable event in Denver—a gathering of civic leaders, religious teachers, and community members. The theme of the gathering was “Repairing the Breach,” a conversation focused on bridging cultural and political divides.

I was watching the NFL yesterday and noticed the many causes that players were celebrating with their cleats.  I saw the American Cancer Society, and yes Special Olympics, and many others.  

It’s almost Thanksgiving. For many of us, that means gathering with family members around the holiday table and talking to relatives who oppose our politics.

Two years ago, my organization, the Dignity Index, issued a warning to our country: Our national addiction to dehumanizing contempt had reached a point at which the future of the country was at stake. Contempt, not policy differences, our data suggested, is tearing us apart.

Here’s one of the biggest paradoxes we face now in the United States – and it’s especially relevant after campaign season:   

The use of contempt is rising -- even as unhappiness with contempt is also rising. 

It would be hard to imagine a more unlikely series of political events than those of the last few days and weeks.

We couldn’t be more different. 

If you ask us to list the things we disagree on, you’d be waiting a while.

Millions of us will tune in on Thursday to watch the first of the two debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And millions of us will rant at our screens and mock and condemn whichever candidate we oppose.