An uncomfortable truth is that incivility rises because too many leaders and citizens have come to believe it works. In the January edition of Municipal World, I explore this in my article on leading with civility in uncivil times and ways to turn the cultural tide. In the short term, it may look effective to intimidate staff, win a meeting, force an outcome, even win an election with toxic behaviour. Incivility may win a battle, but in the end you lose the war for good governance and...

Each January, instead of resolutions, I choose a single word. Resolutions focus on what we do. A word, however, sets the tone. Like a tuning fork, once struck, it shapes how we hear everything else — how we see, judge, and respond. In recent years, those words have named what felt most absent in our civic life. This year, the word is Metanoia. A moral turning.

This past weekend, the world’s largest gathering of Stoics explored a question that feels more urgent than ever: What kind of citizen does this moment require? Between apathy and outrage, the Stoics offer a third way—one grounded in moral courage, civic duty, and thoughtful engagement in public life. Diane Kalen-Sukra was honored to contribute to the program with my talk, “What Would a Stoic Say? Civil Discourse in an Age of Outrage”.