| Subcribe via RSS
I watched this TED video on my iPhone coming back from work today and found it really interesting. It was eye opening and provocative. Definitely worth 18 minutes and 42 seconds of your time.
Have a watch, and share your thoughts!
Tags: Jonathan Haidt, TEDWhat do you do if you’re a person who values facts, truth, honesty, and integrity but none of that seems to matter?
The ‘best’ singer doesn’t always win X Factor or American Idol. The ‘best’ movie doesn’t get the plaudits or awards that it should do. The ‘best’ political party doesn’t win the election.
Me and my wife Rachel got really into the recent BBC series ‘Last Choir Standing’. We loved a brilliant gospel choir called ‘Revelation’. Every week we hoped that they’d win. They made it to the final but were then knocked out, coming in third behind two welsh choirs.
This really frustrated me. The welsh and scottish performers in shows like these always overachieve. And not because they’re better; but because they’re welsh. (I know, that’s not always the case, but it is often.)
The welsh and scots are a lot more patriotic than the english and will simply vote for their nationality, regardless of how good they are. In other words, how good the person is becomes irrelevant. Whether they are better or not doesn’t matter.
I may feel like I have the moral high ground, but what difference does that matter? My choir/singer/film/party didn’t win.
Something that I am slowly coming to terms with is that, whilst I am someone for whom facts do matter, a larger percentage of people really aren’t that moved by facts. That’s not a criticism necessarily, simply an observation of reality.
And, if I’m honest, I’m not solely moved by facts. We can’t always explain why we like one singer over another or one political candidate over another. It’s a gut thing. We just like them. We may call ourselves rational but we’re actually rationalizing our gut reaction.
Take the American presidential election. John McCain has suddenly wrested control of the agenda and possibly the election. Why? Because people are suddenly buying into his economic or foreign policy? No. Not all all. They just are. It’s a gut thing. Sarah Palin has connected with a core group in America, appealed to their gut, their emotional ties.
Barack Obama did the same thing. He appealed to people on a gut level and not a frontal lobe level. They just liked him. He was a breath of fresh air. And yes, of course, for many it ties in hugely with what he stands for, but the truth of the matter is that people being drawn to Obama wasn’t entirely a rational thing.
For Obama now, if he wants to stay in contention come November, he needs to connect with people on that gut level again. Facts and being right won’t get him elected. It may be sad to have to say that, but it does seem to be the truth.
How should we respond to this reality that facts don’t seem to count for much? What does this say about us? Is it a good or a bad thing that people are moved emotionally rather than rationally? If this is just how it is, how should that reality be used in a positive way?
Tags: Facts, IntegrityI have lots of thoughts swirling around my mind following a week of political overload since the start of the Democratic convention in Denver last week, continuing right through to the shock announcement of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee.
It’s all been filling the news columns stateside and here in the UK too. It’s hard to get away from it all. Thankfully, that’s just fine for me. Apologies to those of you who try to avoid politics like you do that crazy uncle who’s always there at the big family gathering.
I have to say, the whole Sarah Palin thing has been very strange. To be honest, it feels more like a movie than reality. I’m not quite sure how I see it panning out. She is a complete unknown. And despite what the McCain team say, it’s abundantly clear she was not nearly as fully vetted as Joe Biden was by the Obama team.
Story after story is emerging that I just can’t see helping the Republicans. Hearing a Republican defend her foreign policy experience as being fine because ‘Alaska is near Russia’ was just laughable.
I could well be wrong (I seem to remember that happening once before in 2002 I think), but it strikes me that McCain’s pick of Palin reeks of two things:
1) Throwing a bone to the religious conservatives.
2) Trying to get Hillary’s women supporters on board.
Both of these I find very frustrating. As a Christ-follower myself, I hate the way it feels like so many Christians are being used by the Republican party. Christians on the far right seem to have allowed themselves to be defined by two issues - abortion and homosexuality. And these two issues have become the litmus test and everything else is less significant.
I think this is terrible. I happen to think that things like abortion are important issues. I definitely want to see as few abortions happening as possible (without making abortion illegal). I definitely think that a baby in a womb is a genuine life. This has been made all the more real with my wife, Rachel, being 17 weeks pregnant. However I don’t think this issue is the be all and end all. What about those in poverty? Isn’t that a moral issue? And how about healthcare? Should people be left without cover because they can’t afford it?
These are just two issues, but there are countless others, and I think these too are moral issues the same way abortion and homosexuality are. I hate the idea that Christians are being thrown the bones of comforting views on abortion and homosexuality and then turning a blind eye to all other issues.
As to the Palin pick being also about trying to get Hillary Clinton supporting women on board, I think this is just insulting! It assumes that women were only supporting Hillary because she was a woman and not because they have strong political views. I’m not a woman, but if that was remotely behind the move to pick Palin, I’d be very offended.
I’ve been alarmed at how suddenly the Christian right is now fully jumping on board because of the Palin VP pick. And I’m alarmed at the hypocrisy of some of those representing the Christian right. If Obama had a 17 year old daughter who was pregnant, would this have been James Dobson’s response: “The media is already trying to spin this as evidence that Governor Palin is a hypocrite, but all it really means is that she and her family are human.”? I suspect if this was a Democrat, he’d have been far less gracious. And that’s putting it mildly.
(Having said that, I don’t think that someone’s child should be part of the political debate at all. I’m glad to say Obama came straight out and said this was off-limits.)
A few disclaimers. As those of you who reguarly read my blog know, I’m hoping Obama wins the Presidential election in November. I think his policies are much better than McCain’s and will move America forward far better than McCain could. (Note, I don’t think he’s right on everything by any stretch, just a better option the McCain. I may post on my issues with Obama soon.) At the same time, I don’t begrudge anyone disagreeing with me. There are many good people who will choose to vote for McCain, and that’s fine. My only hope is that it’ll be for comprehensive and all-encompassing policy reasons and not petty ones.
Though I realise my comments are pretty hard-hitting on the Christian right, I am not suggesting every Christian who votes for McCain is a two-issue voter. Just my frustration that that does appear to be the case with a big proportion on the Christian right.
Ok, I’m done.
Tags: Politics, US ElectionsSomething struck me as very interesting when thinking about Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit to the UK as part of his current world tour. It’s the fact that he is seeing Tony Blair and David Cameron, as well as Gordon Brown.
From what I can tell, in none of the other places he’s visiting is he seeing former leaders and opposition leaders. Why? Because he understands that Gordon Brown probably won’t be Prime Minister after the next general election.
Last nights massive loss in the Glasgow by-election added confirmation of the trouble Brown is in.
I suspect his days may be numbered.
All of these are definitely worth a read…
Those of you who have been reading The Sixth Sense for a while will be aware of my interest in the US Democratic nominations. It has been fascinating to see this battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama unfold. I am really hoping things will come to an end tonight as the last two states have their say.
From an outside to the US looking in, it feels like the superdelegates are at fault for allowing this to drag on as long as it has. It seems like they have endlessly been waiting for Hillary to make a graceful exit on her own terms. But that was never very likely. She’s a fighter who - in my mind at least - seems to be more about herself than the Democratic party.
If the superdelegates had shown some conviction the Democrats could be in a lot better position than they currently are. As the process has drawn on and on, the divisions between the two camps have got wider and wider. It seems like there is a lot of anger and bitterness. There is a lot more work to be done to bring the party together than there would have been if the superdelegates had acted with conviction earlier in the process.
Having said that, I do think the ‘we’re going to vote for McCain’ line that people from both camps are saying if their candidate doesn’t win is not going to be a major issue when the dust settles and the nomination is finalised. It’s an emotional response and not a realistic one.
If someone suddenly switches from Clinton to McCain is just shows that it is nothing to do with politics. Obama and Clinton are really very close on most issues. So, as things settle down, I think the two camps will predominantly come together. They’ll always be a few crazy people though! (Especially in America!)
So, I’m hoping tonight that this nomination is settled, Clinton concedes, and then she works her butt off to bring her supporters behind Obama. And then the real fun and games can go to stage two ahead of the November general election.
Will Hillary Clinton concede the Democratic nomination tonight and throw her support behind Barack Obama?
Total Voters: 4
Loading ...
Following on from yesterday’s introduction, here is the short interview I did with Eric Bryant recently.
* * * * *
Thanks Eric for agreeing to be interviewed for The Sixth Sense. Why don’t you start by telling us a bit more about who you are and what you do?
I live in Los Angeles with my wife Debbie and two children (Caleb and Trevi). I serve at Mosaic, a diverse and creative community of people who believe we can change the world. :)
Your latest book is called ‘Peppermint Filled Pinatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love’ (published by Zondervan). Tell us a bit about what the book is about and why you wrote it.
I wrote a book to Christians about learning to embrace the people Christians “love to hate.” In essence, my goal was to help people discover they can actually develop meaningful and beautiful friendships with people who look, act, and even believe differently.
Is there a specific group of people you’’d really like to see having a copy of this book in their hands?
Anyone who wants to create a more diverse, missional, and loving world. Tolerance and Racial Reconciliation aren’t good enough. We need to create a reconciled and diverse community!
Why should anyone part with their hard earned cash and precious time to read your book? Sell it to us!
You really want to help me sell this, huh?! I have received lots of feedback from people saying they see the world differently after reading my book and laughed while reading it. Erwin McManus, our lead pastor at Mosaic, wrote the Foreword in which he compared my book to a combination of “Saving Private Ryan” meets “Nacho Libre.”
What books/magazines/websites are you reading at the moment and, more specifically, what would you recommend?
Besides The Sixth Sense? :) I have really enjoyed Core Magazine there in the UK plus Outreach Magazine here in the U.S. in terms of magazines. In terms of books, I am enjoying Dust Off Their Feet by Chris Seay plus The Black Swan and MicroTrends. In terms of websites, we work hard to have a great deal of valuable free content up at www.mosaicalliance.com and www.ericbryant.org as well.
Thanks again for your time, Eric. We really appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions.
* * * * *
If you are based in the UK you can buy the book here. If you’re from the US you can get your hands on it here.
Any thoughts, comments, or questions?
Tags: Author Interviews, Authors, Books, Culture
Despite the fact that my voice has such global influence, I am not in the business of endorsing US Presidential candidates. (Sorry Hillary, Barack, John.)
That said, those of you who follow The Sixth Sense will no doubt have detected a definite slant towards Obama in the fight for the Democratic nomination.
The last few days have uncovered another reason why I have this slant: Hillary is terrible at math(s).
For some bizarre reason she thinks she has a larger share of the popular vote than Obama. (Details here). Sadly - for her - no one else agrees. Or, to put it another way, everyone else knows how to actually add up.
This is SERIOUS manipulation of numbers that seems to be either absolute desperation or downright dirty. Or possibly a combination of both.
Whatever the case, these are not the kind of qualities I’d be looking for in a potential President of the United States of America.
UPDATE: