Slashdot Mirror
TED Wants To Remind Us That Ideas -- Not Politicians -- Shape the Future (qz.com)
An anonymous reader shares a Quartz report: Amid global political upheavals, TED curator Chris Anderson argues that ideas have never mattered more. "Ideas changes how people act and [shape] their long term perspective," he said in during a April 17 press briefing. "Politicians come and go and ideas are forever." He said TED -- two segments of which will be broadcast live in movie theaters this year -- wants to re-introduce civility into political discourse. "We want to avoid the zero sum game we see on cable television every day," said Anderson, noting that TED is a non-partisan organization and has historically featured controversial and intriguing thinkers from both sides of the political divide. In place of the shrill, headline-bait tenor of political spectacles, TED wants to take viewers to a place of "reasoned discourse" where big ideas can act as a bridge between opposing views. By creating an eclectic program -- including an entire session delivered in Spanish and another on artificial intelligence -- Anderson said he wants to steer the conversation away from government and politics. "With so much focus in politics, the world is in danger of forgetting that so much of what really changes the future happens outside completely of politics. It happens inside the mind of dreamers, designers, inventors, technologists, entrepreneurs," he said.
Straw man attacks don't create dialogue. There are very few people on the Right who are in favor of "racism, homophobia, mysogyny". These are just labels that the Left uses to shut down dialogue.
There are people on the Right who are concerned about illegal immigration and crime. These concerns are labeled as "racist". There are people on the Right who are concerned about biological men using women's restrooms. These concerns are labeled "transphobic". There are people on the Right who believe an unborn fetus has certain rights. These beliefs are labelled "misogynist".
It's hard work to engage people and address their concerns with respect. Label and dismiss is the lazy way out.