TED Talk Thursday – A Tail of Two Americas by Anand Giridharadas

According to TED.com : “Ten days after 9/11, a shocking attack at a Texas mini-mart shattered the lives of two men: the victim and the attacker. In this stunning talk, Anand Giridharadas, author of “The True American,” tells the story of what happened next. It’s a parable about the two paths an American life can take, and a powerful call for reconciliation.”

“Anand Giridharadas is a writer. He is a New York Times columnist, writing the biweekly “Letter from America.” He is the author, most recently, of The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, about a Muslim immigrant’s campaign to spare from Death Row the white supremacist who tried to kill him. In 2011 he published India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking, about returning to the India his parents left.”

“Giridharadas’s datelines include ItalyIndiaChinaDubaiNorway, Japan, HaitiBrazilColombiaNigeriaUruguay and the United States. He is an on-air contributor for NBC News and appears regularly on “Morning Joe.” He has given talks on the main stage of TED and at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, the University of Michigan, the Aspen Institute, Summit at Sea, the Sydney Opera House, the United Nations, the Asia Society, PopTech and Google. He is a Henry Crown fellow  of the Aspen Institute.”

A Tail of Two Americas by Anand Giridharadas

For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”

——————————————————————————————————–

I look forward to your thoughts and comments!

TED Talk Thursday – Megan Phelps-Roper: I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here’s why I left.

TED Talk ThursdaysAccording to TED.com: “What’s it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing … everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America’s most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her decision to leave it. In this extraordinary talk, she shares her personal experience of extreme polarization, along with some sharp ways we can learn to successfully engage across ideological lines.”

“Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas church known internationally for its daily public protests against members of the LGBT community, Jews, the military and countless others. As a child, teenager and early 20-something, she participated in the picketing almost daily and pioneered the use of social media in the church. Dialogue with “enemies” online proved instrumental in her deradicalization, and she left the church and her entire way of life in November 2012. Since then she has become an advocate for people and ideas she was taught to despise — especially the value of empathy in dialogue with people across ideological lines. She speaks widely, engaging audiences in schools, universities, faith groups, and law enforcement anti-extremism workshops. Her forthcoming memoir will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.”

Megan Phelps-Roper: I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here’s why I left.

For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”

——————————————————————————————————–

I look forward to your thoughts and comments!

Mandala Monday – Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release Part 6

And, finally (there were a lot of mandalas in this set!), Part 6 of the Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release.

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 1-5 can be found at https://nwcreations.com/mandala-monday-mandalas-of-forgiveness-and-release-part-1, and 6-10 at https://nwcreations.com/mandala-monday-mandalas-of-forgiveness-and-release-part-2, 11-15 at https://nwcreations.com/mandala-monday-mandalas-of-forgiveness-and-release-part-3, 16-20 at https://nwcreations.com/mandala-monday-mandalas-of-forgiveness-and-release-part-4, and 21-25 at https://nwcreations.com/mandala-monday-mandalas-of-forgiveness-and-release-part-5.

Enjoy this final set!

 Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 26

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 26

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 26

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 27

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 27

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 27

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 28

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 28

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 28

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 29

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 29

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 29

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 30

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 30

Mandalas of Forgiveness and Release 30

Purchase Prints, Canvases, and gift items made from these images at New World Creations’ Zazzle Store. See the entire set at https://nwcreations.com/galleries/mandalas/

————————————————————————————————

I look forward to your thoughts and comments!