0:00:01.031,0:00:05.095
My students often ask me,[br]"What is sociology?"

0:00:05.558,0:00:09.910
And I tell them it's the study of the way[br]in which human beings are shaped

0:00:09.934,0:00:11.687
by things that they don't see.

0:00:12.501,0:00:15.825
And they say, "So,[br]how can I be a sociologist?

0:00:16.660,0:00:18.778
How can I understand[br]those invisible forces?"

0:00:18.802,0:00:20.330
And I say, "Empathy.

0:00:20.354,0:00:22.454
Start with empathy.

0:00:22.478,0:00:25.260
It all begins with empathy.

0:00:25.284,0:00:27.040
Take yourself out of your shoes,

0:00:27.064,0:00:29.708
put yourself into the shoes[br]of another person."

0:00:29.732,0:00:31.362
Here, I'll give you an example.

0:00:32.263,0:00:35.667
So I imagine my life[br]if, a hundred years ago,

0:00:35.691,0:00:38.541
China had been the most powerful[br]nation in the world

0:00:38.565,0:00:42.052
and they came to the United States[br]in search of coal.

0:00:42.076,0:00:45.267
And they found it, and, in fact,[br]they found lots of it right here.

0:00:45.291,0:00:48.817
And pretty soon,[br]they began shipping that coal,

0:00:48.841,0:00:50.617
ton by ton,

0:00:50.641,0:00:54.079
railcar by railcar, boatload by boatload,

0:00:54.103,0:00:57.188
back to China and elsewhere[br]around the world.

0:00:58.069,0:01:00.319
And they got fabulously[br]wealthy in doing so.

0:01:00.343,0:01:02.676
And they built beautiful cities

0:01:02.700,0:01:05.800
all powered on that coal.

0:01:07.612,0:01:11.033
And back here in the United States,

0:01:11.057,0:01:13.204
we saw economic despair, deprivation.

0:01:13.228,0:01:14.676
This is what I saw.

0:01:14.700,0:01:17.331
I saw people struggling to get by,

0:01:17.355,0:01:20.450
not knowing what was what[br]and what was next.

0:01:20.474,0:01:22.741
And I asked myself the question:

0:01:22.765,0:01:26.095
How is it possible that we could[br]be so poor here in the United States,

0:01:26.119,0:01:29.824
because coal is such a wealthy[br]resource; it's so much money?

0:01:29.848,0:01:31.008
And I realize:

0:01:31.032,0:01:34.437
because the Chinese ingratiated themselves

0:01:34.461,0:01:37.220
with a small ruling class[br]here in the United States,

0:01:37.244,0:01:40.782
who stole all of that money[br]and all of that wealth for themselves.

0:01:41.430,0:01:43.596
And the rest of us,[br]the vast majority of us,

0:01:43.620,0:01:44.885
struggle to get by.

0:01:45.389,0:01:48.493
And the Chinese[br]gave this small ruling elite

0:01:48.517,0:01:51.886
loads of military weapons[br]and sophisticated technology

0:01:51.910,0:01:54.676
in order to ensure that people like me

0:01:54.700,0:01:57.700
would not speak out[br]against this relationship.

0:01:58.573,0:02:00.009
Does this sound familiar?

0:02:01.445,0:02:04.806
And they did things like train Americans[br]to help protect the coal.

0:02:05.056,0:02:08.294
And everywhere, there were[br]symbols of the Chinese --

0:02:08.318,0:02:11.294
everywhere, a constant reminder.

0:02:11.931,0:02:14.074
And back in China,

0:02:14.098,0:02:15.424
what do they say in China?

0:02:15.448,0:02:19.047
Nothing! They don't talk about us.[br]They don't talk about the coal.

0:02:19.071,0:02:20.261
If you ask them,

0:02:20.285,0:02:22.676
they'll say, "Well, you know,[br]we need the coal.

0:02:22.700,0:02:25.898
I mean, come on, I'm not going[br]to turn down my thermostat.

0:02:26.422,0:02:27.827
You can't expect that."

0:02:28.374,0:02:31.549
And so, I get angry, and I get pissed,

0:02:31.573,0:02:33.886
as do lots of average people.

0:02:33.910,0:02:36.452
And we fight back,[br]and it gets really ugly.

0:02:36.476,0:02:38.885
And the Chinese respond[br]in a very ugly way.

0:02:40.620,0:02:43.015
And before we know it,[br]they send in the tanks

0:02:43.039,0:02:44.736
and they send in the troops.

0:02:45.382,0:02:47.030
And lots of people are dying.

0:02:47.700,0:02:51.451
And it's a very, very difficult situation.

0:02:52.676,0:02:55.723
Can you imagine what you would feel

0:02:55.747,0:02:57.912
if you were in my shoes?

0:02:57.936,0:03:00.261
Can you imagine[br]walking out of this building

0:03:00.285,0:03:02.103
and seeing a tank sitting out there,

0:03:02.127,0:03:04.454
or a truck full of soldiers?

0:03:05.900,0:03:09.120
Just imagine what you would feel,[br]because you know why they're here;

0:03:09.144,0:03:10.790
you know what they're doing here.

0:03:10.814,0:03:13.701
And you just feel the anger[br]and you feel the fear.

0:03:14.374,0:03:17.140
If you can, that's empathy.[br]That's empathy.

0:03:17.164,0:03:20.343
You've left your shoes,[br]and you've stood in mine.

0:03:21.138,0:03:22.953
And you've got to feel that.

0:03:22.977,0:03:24.676
OK, so that's the warm-up.

0:03:25.056,0:03:26.228
That's the warm-up.

0:03:26.252,0:03:29.986
Now we're going to have[br]the real radical experiment.

0:03:30.010,0:03:33.676
So, for the remainder of my talk,[br]what I want you to do

0:03:33.700,0:03:38.288
is put yourselves in the shoes[br]of an ordinary Arab Muslim

0:03:38.312,0:03:40.041
living in the Middle East --

0:03:40.065,0:03:42.191
in particular, in Iraq.

0:03:44.343,0:03:45.626
And so to help you,

0:03:46.271,0:03:50.247
perhaps you're a member[br]of this middle-class family in Baghdad.

0:03:50.604,0:03:53.298
What you want is the best for your kids.

0:03:53.322,0:03:55.299
You want your kids to have a better life.

0:03:55.323,0:03:57.410
And you watch the news, you pay attention.

0:03:57.434,0:04:00.988
You read the newspaper, you go down[br]to the coffee shop with your friends,

0:04:01.012,0:04:03.233
you read the newspapers[br]from around the world.

0:04:03.257,0:04:06.293
Sometimes you even watch satellite,[br]CNN, from the United States.

0:04:06.317,0:04:08.804
You have a sense of what[br]the Americans are thinking.

0:04:08.828,0:04:11.876
But really, you just want[br]a better life for yourself.

0:04:11.900,0:04:13.088
That's what you want.

0:04:13.445,0:04:16.509
You're Arab Muslim living in Iraq.

0:04:16.533,0:04:18.280
You want a better life for yourself.

0:04:18.304,0:04:19.518
So here, let me help you.

0:04:19.542,0:04:23.033
Let me help you with some things[br]that you might be thinking.

0:04:23.057,0:04:24.326
Number one:

0:04:24.350,0:04:28.676
this incursion into your land[br]these past 20 years and before --

0:04:28.700,0:04:30.819
the reason anyone[br]is interested in your land,

0:04:30.843,0:04:32.987
and particularly[br]the United States, is oil.

0:04:33.011,0:04:36.120
It's all about oil; you know that,[br]everybody knows that.

0:04:36.144,0:04:39.244
People back in the United States[br]know it's about oil.

0:04:39.459,0:04:44.557
It's because somebody else[br]has a design for your resource.

0:04:44.581,0:04:47.134
It's your resource --[br]it's not somebody else's.

0:04:47.158,0:04:50.136
It's your land; it's your resource.

0:04:50.160,0:04:51.833
Somebody else has a design for it.

0:04:52.778,0:04:54.631
And you know why they have a design?

0:04:54.655,0:04:56.752
You know why they have[br]their eyes set on it?

0:04:56.776,0:04:58.850
Because they have[br]an entire economic system

0:04:58.874,0:05:02.083
that's dependent[br]on that oil -- foreign oil,

0:05:02.107,0:05:04.733
oil from other parts of the world[br]that they don't own.

0:05:05.247,0:05:07.814
And what else do you think[br]about these people?

0:05:07.838,0:05:09.246
The Americans, they're rich.

0:05:09.270,0:05:11.791
Come on, they live in big houses,[br]they have big cars.

0:05:11.815,0:05:14.215
They all have blond hair,[br]blue eyes. They're happy.

0:05:14.239,0:05:17.748
You think that. It's not true, of course,[br]but that's the media impression.

0:05:17.772,0:05:18.968
And that's what you get.

0:05:18.992,0:05:20.200
And they have big cities,

0:05:20.224,0:05:23.327
and the cities are all dependent on oil.

0:05:24.700,0:05:26.676
And back home, what do you see?

0:05:26.700,0:05:28.724
Poverty, despair, struggle.

0:05:29.216,0:05:31.608
Look, you don't live in a wealthy country.

0:05:31.632,0:05:33.679
I mean -- this is Iraq.

0:05:35.275,0:05:37.188
This is what you see.

0:05:37.212,0:05:39.526
You see people struggling to get by.

0:05:39.873,0:05:41.942
It's not easy; you see a lot of poverty.

0:05:41.966,0:05:43.633
And you feel something about this.

0:05:43.657,0:05:45.754
These people have designs[br]for your resource,

0:05:45.778,0:05:47.083
and this is what you see?

0:05:47.982,0:05:50.094
Something else you see[br]that you talk about --

0:05:50.118,0:05:52.328
Americans don't talk[br]about this, but you do --

0:05:52.352,0:05:54.879
there's this thing,[br]this militarization of the world,

0:05:54.903,0:05:57.047
and it's centered[br]right in the United States.

0:05:57.071,0:05:58.945
And the United States is responsible

0:05:58.969,0:06:03.447
for almost one half[br]of the world's military spending.

0:06:04.264,0:06:06.256
Four percent of the world's population!

0:06:06.280,0:06:08.824
And you feel it; you see it every day.

0:06:08.848,0:06:10.170
It's part of your life.

0:06:10.194,0:06:12.972
And you talk about it with your friends.

0:06:12.996,0:06:14.584
You read about it.

0:06:14.608,0:06:17.839
And back when Saddam Hussein was in power,

0:06:18.486,0:06:21.387
the Americans didn't care[br]about his crimes.

0:06:21.411,0:06:23.828
When he was gassing[br]the Kurds and gassing Iran,

0:06:23.852,0:06:25.327
they didn't care about it.

0:06:25.351,0:06:27.430
When oil was at stake,

0:06:27.454,0:06:30.914
somehow, suddenly, things mattered.

0:06:32.485,0:06:34.887
And what you see, something else:

0:06:34.911,0:06:36.697
the United States,

0:06:36.721,0:06:38.830
the hub of democracy around the world --

0:06:38.854,0:06:42.493
they don't seem to really be supporting[br]democratic countries

0:06:42.517,0:06:44.404
all around the world.

0:06:44.428,0:06:47.147
There are a lot of countries,[br]oil-producing countries,

0:06:47.171,0:06:50.399
that aren't very democratic,[br]but supported by the United States.

0:06:51.130,0:06:52.293
That's odd.

0:06:52.317,0:06:55.118
Oh -- these incursions, these two wars,

0:06:55.142,0:06:57.454
the 10 years of sanctions,

0:06:57.478,0:07:01.149
the eight years of occupation,

0:07:01.173,0:07:04.827
the insurgency that's been[br]unleashed on your people,

0:07:04.851,0:07:07.676
the tens of thousands,[br]the hundreds of thousands

0:07:07.700,0:07:10.164
of civilian deaths?

0:07:12.914,0:07:14.760
All because of oil.

0:07:15.628,0:07:17.144
You can't help but think that.

0:07:17.588,0:07:18.969
You talk about it.

0:07:19.700,0:07:22.176
It's in the forefront[br]of your mind, always.

0:07:22.700,0:07:24.715
You say, "How is that possible?"

0:07:25.207,0:07:27.628
And this man, he's everyman --

0:07:28.700,0:07:30.751
your grandfather, your uncle,

0:07:30.775,0:07:32.838
your father, your son, your neighbor,

0:07:32.862,0:07:34.507
your professor, your student.

0:07:35.092,0:07:37.971
Once a life of happiness and joy

0:07:37.995,0:07:40.012
and suddenly, pain and sorrow.

0:07:42.100,0:07:48.314
Everyone in your country[br]has been touched by the violence,

0:07:48.338,0:07:51.423
the bloodshed, the pain,[br]the horror -- everybody.

0:07:51.447,0:07:56.620
Not a single person in your country[br]has not been touched.

0:07:57.124,0:07:58.676
But there's something else.

0:07:58.700,0:08:02.676
There's something else about these people,[br]these Americans who are there.

0:08:02.700,0:08:04.901
There's something else[br]about them that you see

0:08:04.925,0:08:06.499
that they don't see themselves.

0:08:06.523,0:08:08.675
And what do you see? They're Christians!

0:08:08.699,0:08:10.167
They're Christians.

0:08:10.191,0:08:13.692
They worship the Christian God,[br]they have crosses, they carry Bibles.

0:08:13.716,0:08:15.874
Their Bibles have a little insignia

0:08:15.898,0:08:18.673
that says "US Army" on them.

0:08:19.700,0:08:22.676
And their leaders, their leaders:

0:08:22.700,0:08:26.993
before they send their sons and daughters[br]off to war in your country --

0:08:27.017,0:08:28.355
and you know the reason --

0:08:28.379,0:08:29.946
before they send them off,

0:08:29.970,0:08:33.272
they go to a Christian church,[br]and they pray to their Christian God,

0:08:33.296,0:08:36.080
and they ask for protection[br]and guidance from that god.

0:08:36.104,0:08:37.281
Why?

0:08:37.305,0:08:41.358
Well, obviously,[br]when people die in the war,

0:08:41.382,0:08:45.961
they are Muslims, they are Iraqis --[br]they're not Americans.

0:08:45.985,0:08:48.805
You don't want Americans to die --[br]"Protect Our Troops."

0:08:48.829,0:08:51.160
And you feel something about that --

0:08:51.184,0:08:52.387
of course you do.

0:08:52.411,0:08:54.338
And they do wonderful things.

0:08:54.362,0:08:56.176
You read about it, you hear about it.

0:08:56.200,0:08:58.418
They're there to build schools[br]and help people.

0:08:58.442,0:08:59.811
That's what they want to do.

0:08:59.835,0:09:02.603
They do wonderful things,[br]but they also do the bad things,

0:09:02.627,0:09:04.262
and you can't tell the difference.

0:09:04.286,0:09:07.053
And this guy, you get a guy[br]like Lt. Gen. William Boykin.

0:09:07.077,0:09:09.574
Here's a guy who says[br]that your god is a false god.

0:09:09.598,0:09:11.676
Your god's an idol;[br]his god is the true god.

0:09:11.700,0:09:14.796
The solution to the problem[br]in the Middle East, according to him,

0:09:14.820,0:09:16.754
is to convert you all to Christianity --

0:09:16.778,0:09:18.234
just get rid of your religion.

0:09:18.700,0:09:21.411
And you know that.[br]Americans don't read about this guy.

0:09:21.435,0:09:23.676
They don't know anything[br]about him, but you do.

0:09:23.700,0:09:25.891
You pass it around.[br]You pass his words around.

0:09:25.915,0:09:28.487
I mean, this is serious. You're afraid.

0:09:28.511,0:09:31.751
He was one of the leading commanders[br]in the second invasion of Iraq.

0:09:31.775,0:09:34.489
And you're thinking,[br]"My God, if this guy is saying that,

0:09:34.513,0:09:36.620
then all the soldiers[br]must be saying that."

0:09:37.112,0:09:38.597
And this word here --

0:09:38.621,0:09:40.534
George Bush called this war a crusade.

0:09:40.558,0:09:43.036
Man, the Americans,[br]they're just like, "Ah, crusade.

0:09:43.060,0:09:45.006
Whatever. I don't know what that means."

0:09:45.030,0:09:48.055
You know what it means --[br]it's a holy war against Muslims.

0:09:48.079,0:09:51.908
Look, invade, subdue them,[br]take their resources.

0:09:51.932,0:09:53.742
If they won't submit, kill them.

0:09:54.205,0:09:55.556
That's what this is about.

0:09:55.580,0:09:59.208
And you're thinking, "My God,[br]these Christians are coming to kill us."

0:09:59.232,0:10:00.676
This is frightening.

0:10:00.700,0:10:03.454
You feel frightened.[br]Of course you feel frightened.

0:10:03.478,0:10:06.175
And this man, Terry Jones:

0:10:06.199,0:10:08.946
I mean here's a guy[br]who wants to burn Qurans, right?

0:10:08.970,0:10:11.623
And the Americans:[br]"Ah, he's a knucklehead.

0:10:11.647,0:10:15.276
He's a former hotel manager; he's got[br]three dozen members of his church ..."

0:10:15.300,0:10:16.467
They laugh him off.

0:10:16.491,0:10:19.677
You don't laugh him off,[br]because in the context of everything else,

0:10:19.701,0:10:20.852
all the pieces fit.

0:10:20.876,0:10:22.760
Of course this is how Americans think.

0:10:22.784,0:10:25.787
So people all over the Middle East,[br]not just in your country,

0:10:25.811,0:10:26.967
are protesting.

0:10:26.991,0:10:28.922
"He wants to burn Qurans, our holy book.

0:10:28.946,0:10:31.074
These Christians --[br]who are these Christians?

0:10:31.098,0:10:34.513
They're so evil, they're so mean --[br]this is what they're about?"

0:10:34.537,0:10:37.152
This is what you're thinking[br]as an Arab Muslim,

0:10:37.176,0:10:38.585
as an Iraqi.

0:10:38.609,0:10:40.586
Of course you're going to think this.

0:10:40.610,0:10:44.534
And then your cousin says,[br]"Hey coz, check out this website.

0:10:44.558,0:10:46.832
You've got to see this -- Bible Boot Camp.

0:10:46.856,0:10:48.134
These Christians are nuts!

0:10:48.158,0:10:51.025
They're training their little kids[br]to be soldiers for Jesus.

0:10:51.049,0:10:53.634
They take little kids[br]and run them through these things

0:10:53.658,0:10:55.960
till they teach them[br]how to say, 'Sir! Yes, sir!'

0:10:55.984,0:10:59.096
and things like 'grenade toss'[br]and 'weapons care and maintenance.'

0:10:59.120,0:11:02.152
And go to the website --[br]it says 'US Army' right on it.

0:11:02.176,0:11:04.086
I mean, these Christians, they're nuts.

0:11:04.110,0:11:06.120
How can they do this[br]to their little kids?"

0:11:06.144,0:11:07.675
And you're reading this website.

0:11:07.699,0:11:10.520
And of course, Christians[br]in the United States, or anybody,

0:11:10.544,0:11:13.425
says, "This is some little church[br]in the middle of nowhere."

0:11:13.449,0:11:14.600
You don't know that.

0:11:14.624,0:11:17.033
For you, this is like, all Christians.

0:11:17.057,0:11:19.359
It's all over the Web: "Bible Boot Camp."

0:11:19.383,0:11:20.712
And look at this.

0:11:21.157,0:11:22.552
They even teach their kids --

0:11:22.576,0:11:25.389
they train them in the same way[br]the US Marines train.

0:11:25.907,0:11:27.374
Isn't that interesting.

0:11:27.398,0:11:29.676
And it scares you, and it frightens you.

0:11:29.700,0:11:31.676
So these guys, you see them.

0:11:31.700,0:11:34.884
You see, I, Sam Richards --[br]I know who these guys are.

0:11:34.908,0:11:37.841
They're my students, my friends;[br]I know what they're thinking.

0:11:37.865,0:11:39.073
You don't know.

0:11:39.097,0:11:41.642
When you see them, they're something else.

0:11:42.426,0:11:43.700
They're something else.

0:11:44.130,0:11:45.866
That's what they are to you.

0:11:46.908,0:11:49.375
We don't see it that way[br]in the United States,

0:11:49.399,0:11:50.835
but you see it that way.

0:11:54.700,0:11:55.867
So here.

0:11:56.501,0:11:58.533
Of course, you've got it wrong.

0:11:58.557,0:12:01.040
You're generalizing. It's wrong.

0:12:01.064,0:12:03.351
You don't understand the Americans.

0:12:03.375,0:12:05.055
It's not a Christian invasion.

0:12:05.079,0:12:08.052
We're not just there for oil;[br]we're there for lots of reasons.

0:12:08.076,0:12:10.089
You have it wrong. You've missed it.

0:12:10.113,0:12:12.890
And of course, most of you[br]don't support the insurgency;

0:12:12.914,0:12:14.672
you don't support killing Americans;

0:12:14.696,0:12:16.676
you don't support the terrorists.

0:12:16.700,0:12:18.676
Of course you don't. Very few people do.

0:12:18.700,0:12:20.964
But -- some of you do.

0:12:21.972,0:12:23.394
And this is a perspective.

0:12:23.781,0:12:26.513
OK. So now, here's what we're going to do.

0:12:26.537,0:12:30.498
Step outside of your shoes[br]that you're in right now,

0:12:30.522,0:12:32.312
and step back into your normal shoes.

0:12:32.336,0:12:34.311
So everyone's back in the room. OK?

0:12:35.265,0:12:37.166
Now here comes the radical experiment.

0:12:37.190,0:12:38.547
So we're all back home.

0:12:39.216,0:12:41.308
This photo: this woman --

0:12:41.332,0:12:43.205
man, I feel her.

0:12:43.229,0:12:44.802
I feel her.

0:12:44.826,0:12:46.306
She's my sister,

0:12:46.330,0:12:49.514
my wife, my cousin, my neighbor.

0:12:49.538,0:12:50.934
She's anybody to me.

0:12:50.958,0:12:53.665
These guys standing there,[br]everybody in the photo --

0:12:53.689,0:12:55.406
I feel this photo, man.

0:12:56.832,0:12:58.467
So here's what I want you to do.

0:12:58.491,0:13:01.543
Let's go back to my first[br]example, of the Chinese.

0:13:02.500,0:13:04.322
I want you to go there.

0:13:04.346,0:13:07.576
It's all about coal, and the Chinese[br]are here in the United States.

0:13:07.600,0:13:09.346
What I want you to do is picture her

0:13:09.370,0:13:12.298
as a Chinese woman[br]receiving a Chinese flag

0:13:12.322,0:13:16.991
because her loved one has died[br]in America in the coal uprising.

0:13:17.612,0:13:19.241
And the soldiers are Chinese,

0:13:19.265,0:13:21.140
and everybody else is Chinese.

0:13:21.620,0:13:24.620
As an American, how do you feel[br]about this picture?

0:13:26.930,0:13:28.826
What do you think about that scene?

0:13:31.700,0:13:34.222
OK, try this. Bring it back.

0:13:34.246,0:13:35.676
This is the scene here.

0:13:35.700,0:13:37.566
It's an American, American soldiers,

0:13:37.590,0:13:40.645
American woman who lost[br]her loved one in the Middle East,

0:13:40.669,0:13:42.872
in Iraq or Afghanistan.

0:13:42.896,0:13:44.872
Now, put yourself in the shoes,

0:13:44.896,0:13:48.751
go back to the shoes[br]of an Arab Muslim living in Iraq.

0:13:51.005,0:13:55.803
What are you feeling and thinking[br]about this photo,

0:13:55.827,0:13:57.640
about this woman?

0:14:06.001,0:14:07.676
OK,

0:14:07.700,0:14:09.676
now follow me on this,

0:14:09.700,0:14:11.831
because I'm taking a big risk here.

0:14:11.855,0:14:14.594
And so I'm going to invite you[br]to take a risk with me.

0:14:14.618,0:14:16.595
These gentlemen here, they're insurgents.

0:14:16.619,0:14:20.628
They were caught by the American soldiers,[br]trying to kill Americans.

0:14:20.652,0:14:24.062
And maybe they succeeded.[br]Maybe they succeeded.

0:14:24.086,0:14:28.460
Put yourself in the shoes[br]of the Americans who caught them.

0:14:29.207,0:14:31.287
Can you feel the rage?

0:14:31.311,0:14:33.693
Can you feel that you just want[br]to take these guys

0:14:33.717,0:14:35.167
and wring their necks?

0:14:35.191,0:14:36.441
Can you go there?

0:14:37.335,0:14:39.010
It shouldn't be that difficult.

0:14:39.389,0:14:42.338
You just -- oh, man.

0:14:43.274,0:14:48.445
Now, put yourself in their shoes.

0:14:50.771,0:14:52.748
Are they brutal killers

0:14:52.772,0:14:54.725
or patriotic defenders?

0:14:56.701,0:14:57.854
Which one?

0:14:58.491,0:15:01.676
Can you feel their anger,

0:15:01.700,0:15:03.131
their fear,

0:15:03.155,0:15:05.131
their rage

0:15:05.824,0:15:08.021
at what has happened in their country?

0:15:08.045,0:15:12.448
Can you imagine that maybe[br]one of them, in the morning,

0:15:12.472,0:15:15.604
bent down to their child[br]and hugged their child

0:15:15.628,0:15:19.605
and said, "Dear, I'll be back later.

0:15:19.629,0:15:22.958
I'm going out to defend[br]your freedom, your lives.

0:15:22.982,0:15:25.455
I'm going out to look out for us,

0:15:26.469,0:15:27.993
the future of our country."

0:15:29.080,0:15:30.377
Can you imagine that?

0:15:30.401,0:15:31.904
Can you imagine saying that?

0:15:33.128,0:15:34.544
Can you go there?

0:15:37.700,0:15:39.435
What do you think they're feeling?

0:15:47.723,0:15:49.128
You see, that's empathy.

0:15:49.882,0:15:51.326
It's also understanding.

0:15:51.350,0:15:52.978
[understand]

0:15:53.002,0:15:54.310
Now, you might ask,

0:15:54.334,0:15:57.601
"OK, Sam, so why do you[br]do this sort of thing?

0:15:57.625,0:15:59.985
Why would you use[br]this example of all examples?"

0:16:00.009,0:16:02.676
And I say, because.

0:16:02.700,0:16:04.501
You're allowed to hate these people.

0:16:04.525,0:16:09.676
You're allowed to just hate them[br]with every fiber of your being.

0:16:09.700,0:16:13.477
And if I can get you[br]to step into their shoes

0:16:13.501,0:16:17.058
and walk an inch -- one tiny inch --

0:16:17.880,0:16:20.594
then imagine the kind[br]of sociological analysis

0:16:20.618,0:16:24.236
that you can do in all other[br]aspects of your life.

0:16:25.268,0:16:26.676
You can walk a mile

0:16:26.700,0:16:31.771
when it comes to understanding why[br]that person's driving 40 miles per hour

0:16:31.795,0:16:33.192
in the passing lane;

0:16:33.993,0:16:35.664
or your teenage son;

0:16:36.374,0:16:40.017
or your neighbor who annoys you[br]by cutting his lawn on Sunday mornings.

0:16:40.041,0:16:42.897
Whatever it is, you can go so far.

0:16:43.501,0:16:45.596
And this is what I tell my students:

0:16:45.620,0:16:49.112
step outside of your tiny, little world.

0:16:49.136,0:16:53.648
Step inside of the tiny,[br]little world of somebody else.

0:16:53.889,0:16:55.330
And then do it again

0:16:55.354,0:16:57.053
and do it again and do it again.

0:16:57.077,0:16:59.186
And suddenly, all these tiny,[br]little worlds,

0:16:59.210,0:17:01.462
they come together in this complex web.

0:17:01.486,0:17:04.556
And they build a big, complex world.

0:17:04.580,0:17:06.959
And suddenly, without realizing it,

0:17:06.983,0:17:09.160
you're seeing the world differently.

0:17:09.184,0:17:10.947
Everything has changed.

0:17:10.971,0:17:12.714
Everything in your life has changed.

0:17:13.821,0:17:16.894
And that's, of course, what this is about.

0:17:16.918,0:17:20.040
Attend to other lives,

0:17:20.064,0:17:21.422
other visions.

0:17:21.446,0:17:23.871
Listen to other people,

0:17:23.895,0:17:25.740
enlighten ourselves.

0:17:26.509,0:17:30.136
I'm not saying that I support[br]the terrorists in Iraq.

0:17:30.779,0:17:34.010
But as a sociologist, what I am saying is:

0:17:34.700,0:17:37.449
I understand.

0:17:38.700,0:17:42.928
And now perhaps -- perhaps -- you do, too.

0:17:42.952,0:17:44.104
Thank you.

0:17:44.128,0:17:47.007
(Applause)