Weeks into the new year, many of us are trying to stick with the plethora of resolutions we made for ourselves — eating healthier, getting more physically fit, staying closer with friends and striking a better balance between work and family.
Looking more broadly beyond our personal goals, it’s also worth contemplating other changes we’d like to see in the year ahead, especially when it comes to our nation’s shared beliefs and values. Given the turbulence that has permeated our political discourse, the business world and so many aspects of our daily lives, I’d like to share my own priorities and aspirations to put our country on a steadier path forward:
1. More civility in our public discourse. Everyone, regardless of their political leanings, should be able to express their opinions without being subject to rancor and demeaning comments. There are so many important social issues facing this country that deserve thoughtful debate. There will always be disagreement among our elected officials and other leaders about the best course of action, but nobody should be ridiculed or insulted for offering their perspectives.
2. A return to the art of compromise. Polls clearly show that Americans support bipartisanship and are tired of the gridlock in Washington. Perhaps this helps explain why 45% of U.S. adults identified as independents in 2025, a record high, or why 37% of Americans wish for more than two political parties to choose from. Regardless of party, it’s time for political party leaders to start doing their jobs like mature adults. It would be a win-win for both sides if they would start finding middle ground on the countless issues affecting millions of Americans.
3. A campaign to promote trust. Americans’ confidence in major U.S. institutions is near a record low. That includes trust in our medical system, law enforcement and criminal justice, and public schools. Loss of trust compromises truth, leading to misinformation, conspiracy theories and falsehoods. Trust cannot be demanded, and it should never be blind. Rebuilding it will require institutions to do better and leaders to act with integrity, but without some shared confidence in our core systems, no society can move forward.
4. A course correction on public health. Despite campaign promises to “Make America Healthy Again,” the government’s actions and policies are having the opposite effect, especially for children. We need a dramatic course correction — restoring trust in legitimate science, and in the power and success of vaccinations that have saved countless lives over the years. The consequences of allowing that trust to erode are already visible. U.S. measles cases reached their highest level last year since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.
Equally important is safeguarding our children during this era of digital transformation. Our technology leaders must institute protections and policies to shield our young people from the ill-health effects of social media addiction, which is a growing public health issue that demands our immediate attention.
5. Leading again on global health. How wonderful it would be for the U.S. to reclaim its leadership as an international beacon of hope by reinstating support to prevent disease and starvation around the world, where millions are dying from lack of access to food and medicine. These are investments that serve our strategic and moral interests. As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently wrote, “We should not be indifferent to grotesque atrocities.”
As we transition into this new year, let’s hope for real leadership — leadership that promotes the values of decency, respect, integrity, humanity and kindness. Leaders must promote unity, not polarization, and a sense of shared purpose and community. Promoting disunity and distrust, inhumanity and vindictiveness is not leadership.
As someone proud of his Irish heritage, I often return to the words of Daniel O’Connell, who was the leader of Catholic emancipation in Ireland in the early 19th century and the first Catholic representative to serve in the British Parliament. In a statement that is so relevant today, he said, “Nothing is politically correct that is morally wrong.”
Michael J. Dowling is CEO Emeritus of Northwell Health, the largest health system in the Northeast.
