Ideas for the Good City
Ideas matter. Words can build bridges where walls once stood. This page gathers the published commentaries of Kyle Ogden, President and CEO of Thanks-Giving Square, originally appearing in The Dallas Morning News. Collected here in one place, these reflections explore gratitude, civic responsibility, and the shared human values that shape our city and our time.
When we are each being shown a different version of the world, we should not be surprised that common ground is harder to find. Rebuilding it begins with something no algorithm can replace: conversation, listening and genuine human connection.
September 1, 2026
The Dallas Morning News
We need the humanities in the age of AI
AI makes the humanities more essential, not less. While technology enhances capability, philosophy, history, literature, and ethics cultivate judgment, wisdom, and moral reasoning.
August 18, 2026
HIGHER GROUND: The Most Important Words We May Never Say
What if one simple practice could help us approach others with greater empathy and understanding? Kyle Ogden reflects on the transformative power of "Just like me," inviting readers to see beyond labels and rediscover the shared humanity that connects us all.
August 1, 2026
GOOD CITIES STORY PROJECT: What Happens When We Truly Hear One Another
What happens when people feel safe enough to tell the truth about their lives? Reflecting on the July 11 Story Spirals gathering at Thanks-Giving Square, Faye Lane shares how honest storytelling transformed a room of strangers into a genuine community. Her inspiring column explores the healing power of deep listening, shared humanity, and the simple act of witnessing one another's stories—one conversation, one circle, and one person at a time.
August 1, 2026
HIGHER GROUND: Out of Many, One: The Enduring Promise of America at 250
America's greatest strength has always been its ability to transform diversity into unity, resilience, and common purpose, reminding us that our differences are not obstacles to overcome but gifts that strengthen the nation. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, the enduring promise of E pluribus unum—out of many, one—remains a work in progress.
July 1, 2026
Every life holds stories worth telling. Faye Lane reveals how vivid images, sensory detail, and honest emotion transform ordinary moments into lasting human connection. Great storytelling, she reminds us, is not about perfect words—it's about inviting others to recognize their own lives in yours.
July 1, 2026
HIGHER GROUND: Welcoming the World to Dallas with Kindness
As thousands of international visitors arrive for FIFA matches and celebrations across our city, they will encounter many things that define Dallas today — energy, ambition, growth, innovation and hospitality. They will experience a city that knows how to build, compete and lead on a global stage. But I hope they encounter something even more meaningful.
June 1, 2026
The Dallas Morning News
How Dallas Chooses to Live Together: The Next 50 Years of Thanks-Giving Square
What has endured for five decades is more than a place. It is the possibility it represents: that a city can be shaped by how its people treat one another. That is the deeper legacy of Thanks-Giving Square.
May 25, 2026
HIGHER GROUND: The Next 50 Years
As Thanks-Giving Square marks its 50th anniversary, its legacy is less about a physical place and more about cultivating a culture we want for Dallas—one that has quietly shaped the city by offering space for reflection, connection, and shared humanity. Looking ahead, the next chapter calls for growth and renewed engagement, inviting the community to carry this vision forward as a vital force for unity, healing, and civic life in an increasingly fast-paced and divided world.
May 1, 2026
The Dallas Morning News
The Culture We Choose Will Shape The Dallas We Become
When most of us hear the word “culture,” we think of the symphony, the museum, the theater district, the restaurants we recommend to out-of-town friends. That is culture in the narrow sense — important, beautiful and worth defending. But in its broader sense, culture is both more ordinary and more powerful.
April 17, 2026
The Dallas Morning News
Today, we find ourselves in a moment neither Aristotle nor Descartes could have imagined. Artificial intelligence systems can now do many things that once belonged exclusively to the human mind.
March 21, 2026
HIGHER GROUND: The Intelligence Our City Needs Now
In recent years, we have heard much about emotional intelligence and social intelligence. We have learned the value of self-awareness, empathy, collaboration, and communication. These capacities matter. They make us better colleagues, neighbors, and leaders. But I have come to believe that Dallas—and our country—needs something deeper as well. We need to recover and strengthen what might be called moral and spiritual intelligence.
March 1, 2026
GOOD CITIES STORY PROJECT: Our Vision by Faye Lane
It is the honor of my life to serve as Artist-in-Residence and Chief Inspiration Officer at Thanks-Giving Square. Yes, that’s a title I helped invent. And yes, it is as joyful as it sounds. But make no mistake: what we are building here is not decorative. It is not an accessory to civic life. It is meant to be essential.
March 1, 2026
The Dallas Morning News
What Does Downtown Dallas Inspire?
Downtown Dallas has the bones of a great city center: unmatched access, cultural assets, iconic towers, major employers and a history of reinvention. What it often lacks, especially after work hours, is the lived experience that makes a place feel not merely functional, but magnetic.
January 17, 2026
The Dallas Morning News
This year for the holidays, think of gratitude as a strategy
It is not soft emotion for greeting cards; it shapes how we lead and how we relate.
December 18, 2025
The Dallas Morning News
Kindness, a winning strategy for business
Dallas Kindness Week is not just a celebration. It’s an invitation to lead.
November 8, 2025
The Dallas Morning News
Sacred spaces bring cities together. Dallas is showing the way.
Dallas is renowned for its unrelenting growth and expansive vision for the future, qualities that have transformed a prairie town on the river into a megacity with virtually limitless potential.
June 20, 2025
The Dallas Morning News
Today, we celebrate kindness in Dallas
In early 1994, a group of Dallas leaders formed a committee to establish a Dallas Acts Kind Week for the week of Feb. 14, 1995. The idea came to friends and longtime Dallas residents Dee Silverstein and Jackie Waldman after watching the movie Schindler’s List. It became the first movement of its kind.
February 14, 2025
The Dallas Morning News
New year, same America, just the way it ought to be
The nation changed in 2024, and in 2025, it will change again. Some will shrug, some will celebrate, some will lament, but what makes America so unique is that we change all the time yet remain constantly, faithfully committed to this little experiment of ours.
January 5, 2025
The Dallas Morning News
Thanks-Giving Square to host film screenings focused on mending our social capital.
Sept. 3, 2024
The Dallas Morning News
Thanks-Giving Square was founded after a tragedy. Could this be a moment for change?
Let’s start to heal the loneliness and divisiveness that is tearing our social fabric.
July 19, 2024
The Dallas Morning News
A renewed vision for Thanks-Giving Square
Our simple platform: love people, make a difference, practice gratitude
June 22, 2024