Politics at Thanksgiving: Conversations at Family Holiday Gatherings
Understand the Dynamics Increasingly Americans no longer simply vote for a political party, but derive their primary identity from it. For some toward either outside edge facts, complexity, basic decency, and the health of the republic do not matter. All that matters is that our team wins. Tribalism reigns. We lose. There are several anxieties…
Read MoreFrom Rage to Reconciliation, from Tragedy to Transformation – Part Two
They were doing everyday activities we take for granted. Stopping at a gas station. Pausing for prayer. Traveling home. Yet each turned tragic-in some cases, life ending. None were the result of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Each was the result of aggression. Each person was targeted because they seemed…
Read MoreFrom Rage to Reconciliation, From Tragedy to Transformation, Part One
 They were doing everyday activities we take for granted. Stopping at a gas station. Pausing for prayer. Traveling home. Yet each turned tragic-in some cases, life ending. None were the result of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Each was the result of aggression. Each person was targeted because they…
Read MoreBridging Bias, Fear and Hate
Tribalism has become a buzzword in public discourse today, describing the increasing tendency of Americans to more sharply define boundaries of ‘us’ or ‘them’, using such perceptions to determine who or what they’ll listen to and support, or ignore and oppose; whose misdeeds they’ll forgive and whose they’ll publicize. Tribalism, identity politics is not new;…
Read MoreMoving Beyond Me Too
The problem of sexual harassment and abuse of adults and children in the home, at school and at work has been well documented. New cases emerge almost daily. In this episode of Challenge 2.0, our panelists examine effective programs and efforts to support victims and prevent new cases…and what we can learn from them. The…
Read MoreIslamophobia: Not Just a Muslim Problem
Airs on MeTV on Sunday, on November 25. Prejudice, hatred and violence directed toward Muslim-Americans existed well before 9/11. However Islamophobia has greatly expanded since the 2001 attacks on the World Trace Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. What are the roots of Islamophobia, what is the damage done-not just to…
Read MoreChallenge 2.0: From Me to We
How can we bridge the challenges we face and come together as one human family? How can we see our differences as gifts to be enjoyed rather than feared?  Father William Treacy, Aneelah Afzali, Rabbi Danny Weiner and Pastor Terry Kyllo participated in the discussion with Jeff Renner moderated the panel. MeTV Chanel List Host:  Jeff Renner…
Read MoreFaith and Activism, Lessons from the 1960’s (Part Two)
In our previous Challenge 2.0 episode, we examined the interconnection of activism, faith and the media during the turbulent era of the 1960’s. We revisited the faith and hope that lived in so many, perhaps expressed best by Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior who said ‘Only when it is dark enough can you see the…
Read MoreFaith and Activism, Lessons from the 1960s (Part one)
‘Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars’. That line came from the last speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior-one day before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. It recognized the and confronted the injustice, prejudice and alienation prevalent in the 1960’s…the hope that change was possible, and the…
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