A radical experiment in empathy
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0:00 - 0:03My students often ask me,
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0:03 - 0:05"What is sociology?"
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0:05 - 0:07And I tell them, "It's the study
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0:07 - 0:09of the way in which human beings
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0:09 - 0:12are shaped by things that they don't see."
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0:12 - 0:16And they say, "So how can I be a sociologist?
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0:16 - 0:18How can I understand those invisible forces?"
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0:18 - 0:20And I say, "Empathy.
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0:20 - 0:22Start with empathy.
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0:22 - 0:25It all begins with empathy.
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0:25 - 0:27Take yourself out of your shoes,
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0:27 - 0:29put yourself into the shoes of another person."
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0:29 - 0:32Here, I'll give you an example.
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0:32 - 0:34So I imagine my life:
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0:34 - 0:36if a hundred years ago
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0:36 - 0:38China had been the most powerful nation in the world
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0:38 - 0:40and they came to the United States
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0:40 - 0:42in search of coal,
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0:42 - 0:45and they found it, and, in fact, they found lots of it right here.
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0:45 - 0:48And pretty soon, they began shipping that coal,
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0:48 - 0:50ton by ton,
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0:50 - 0:53rail car by rail car, boatload by boatload,
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0:53 - 0:57back to China and elsewhere around the world.
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0:57 - 1:00And they got fabulously wealthy in doing so.
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1:00 - 1:02And they built beautiful cities
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1:02 - 1:06all powered on that coal.
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1:07 - 1:10And back here in the United States,
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1:10 - 1:12we saw economic despair, deprivation.
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1:12 - 1:14This is what I saw.
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1:14 - 1:17I saw people struggling to get by,
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1:17 - 1:20not knowing what was what and what was next.
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1:20 - 1:22And then I asked myself the question.
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1:22 - 1:25I say, "How's it possible that we could be so poor here in the United States,
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1:25 - 1:27because the coal is such a wealthy resource,
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1:27 - 1:29it's so much money?"
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1:29 - 1:31And I realized,
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1:31 - 1:34because the Chinese ingratiated themselves
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1:34 - 1:37with a small ruling class here in the United States
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1:37 - 1:41who stole all of that money and all of that wealth for themselves.
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1:41 - 1:43And the rest of us, the vast majority of us,
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1:43 - 1:45struggle to get by.
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1:45 - 1:48And the Chinese gave this small ruling elite
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1:48 - 1:51loads of military weapons and sophisticated technology
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1:51 - 1:54in order to ensure that people like me
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1:54 - 1:57would not speak out against this relationship.
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1:58 - 2:01Does this sound familiar?
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2:01 - 2:03And they did things like train Americans
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2:03 - 2:05to help protect the coal.
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2:05 - 2:08And everywhere, were symbols of the Chinese --
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2:08 - 2:11everywhere, a constant reminder.
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2:11 - 2:13And back in China,
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2:13 - 2:15what do they say in China?
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2:15 - 2:18Nothing. They don't talk about us. They don't talk about the coal.
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2:18 - 2:20If you ask them,
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2:20 - 2:22they'll say, "Well, you know the coal, we need the coal.
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2:22 - 2:25I mean, come on, I'm not going to turn down my thermostat.
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2:25 - 2:28You can't expect that."
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2:28 - 2:31And so I get angry, and I get pissed,
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2:31 - 2:33as do lots of average people.
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2:33 - 2:36And we fight back, and it gets really ugly.
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2:36 - 2:39And the Chinese respond in a very ugly way.
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2:40 - 2:43And before we know it, they send in the tanks
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2:43 - 2:45and then send in the troops,
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2:45 - 2:47and lots of people are dying,
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2:47 - 2:52and it's a very, very difficult situation.
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2:52 - 2:55Can you imagine what you would feel
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2:55 - 2:57if you were in my shoes?
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2:57 - 3:00Can you imagine walking out of this building
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3:00 - 3:02and seeing a tank sitting out there
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3:02 - 3:05or a truck full of soldiers?
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3:05 - 3:07And just imagine what you would feel.
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3:07 - 3:10Because you know why they're here, and you know what they're doing here.
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3:10 - 3:14And you just feel the anger and you feel the fear.
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3:14 - 3:17If you can, that's empathy -- that's empathy.
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3:17 - 3:20You've left your shoes, and you've stood in mine.
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3:20 - 3:22And you've got to feel that.
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3:22 - 3:24Okay, so that's the warm up.
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3:24 - 3:26That's the warm up.
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3:26 - 3:28Now we're going to have
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3:28 - 3:30the real radical experiment.
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3:30 - 3:33And so for the remainder of my talk, what I want you to do
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3:33 - 3:35is put yourselves in the shoes
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3:35 - 3:38of an ordinary Arab Muslim
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3:38 - 3:40living in the Middle East --
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3:40 - 3:43in particular, in Iraq.
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3:44 - 3:46And so to help you,
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3:46 - 3:50perhaps you're a member of this middle class family in Baghdad --
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3:50 - 3:53and what you want is the best for your kids.
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3:53 - 3:55You want your kids to have a better life.
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3:55 - 3:57And you watch the news, you pay attention,
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3:57 - 4:00you read the newspaper, you go down to the coffee shop with your friends,
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4:00 - 4:02and you read the newspapers from around the world.
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4:02 - 4:04And sometimes you even watch satellite,
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4:04 - 4:06CNN, from the United States.
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4:06 - 4:08So you have a sense of what the Americans are thinking.
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4:08 - 4:11But really, you just want a better life for yourself.
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4:11 - 4:13That's what you want.
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4:13 - 4:15You're Arab Muslim living in Iraq.
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4:15 - 4:17You want a better life for yourself.
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4:17 - 4:19So here, let me help you.
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4:19 - 4:21Let me help you with some things
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4:21 - 4:23that you might be thinking.
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4:23 - 4:26Number one: this incursion into your land
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4:26 - 4:28these past 20 years, and before,
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4:28 - 4:31the reason anyone is interested in your land, and particularly the United States,
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4:31 - 4:33it's oil.
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4:33 - 4:36It's all about oil; you know that, everybody knows that.
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4:36 - 4:39People here back in the United States know it's about oil.
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4:39 - 4:41It's because somebody else
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4:41 - 4:44has a design for your resource.
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4:44 - 4:47It's your resource; it's not somebody else's.
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4:47 - 4:50It's your land; it's your resource.
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4:50 - 4:52Somebody else has a design for it.
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4:52 - 4:54And you know why they have a design?
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4:54 - 4:56You know why they have their eyes set on it?
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4:56 - 4:58Because they have an entire economic system
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4:58 - 5:00that's dependent on that oil --
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5:00 - 5:02foreign oil,
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5:02 - 5:05oil from other parts of the world that they don't own.
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5:05 - 5:07And what else do you think about these people?
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5:07 - 5:09The Americans, they're rich.
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5:09 - 5:11Come on, they live in big houses, they have big cars,
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5:11 - 5:13they all have blond hair, blue eyes, they're happy.
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5:13 - 5:15You think that. It's not true, of course,
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5:15 - 5:18but that's the media impression, and that's like what you get.
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5:18 - 5:20And they have big cities,
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5:20 - 5:23and the cities are all dependent on oil.
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5:24 - 5:26And back home, what do you see?
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5:26 - 5:28Poverty, despair, struggle.
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5:28 - 5:31Look, you don't live in a wealthy country.
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5:31 - 5:34This is Iraq.
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5:35 - 5:37This is what you see.
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5:37 - 5:39You see people struggling to get by.
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5:39 - 5:41I mean, it's not easy; you see a lot of poverty.
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5:41 - 5:43And you feel something about this.
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5:43 - 5:45These people have designs for your resource,
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5:45 - 5:47and this is what you see?
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5:47 - 5:49Something else you see that you talk about --
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5:49 - 5:51Americans don't talk about this, but you do.
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5:51 - 5:54There's this thing, this militarization of the world,
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5:54 - 5:56and it's centered right in the United States.
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5:56 - 5:58And the United States
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5:58 - 6:01is responsible for almost one half
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6:01 - 6:03of the world's military spending --
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6:03 - 6:05four percent of the world's population.
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6:05 - 6:08And you feel it; you see it every day.
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6:08 - 6:10It's part of your life.
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6:10 - 6:12And you talk about it with your friends.
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6:12 - 6:15You read about it.
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6:15 - 6:18And back when Saddam Hussein was in power,
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6:18 - 6:21the Americans didn't care about his crimes.
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6:21 - 6:23When he was gassing the Kurds and gassing Iran,
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6:23 - 6:25they didn't care about it.
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6:25 - 6:27When oil was at stake,
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6:27 - 6:31somehow, suddenly, things mattered.
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6:32 - 6:34And what you see, something else,
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6:34 - 6:36the United States,
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6:36 - 6:38the hub of democracy around the world,
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6:38 - 6:40they don't seem to really be
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6:40 - 6:44supporting democratic countries all around the world.
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6:44 - 6:47There are a lot of countries, oil-producing countries,
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6:47 - 6:50that aren't very democratic, but supported by the United States.
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6:50 - 6:52That's odd.
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6:52 - 6:55Oh, these incursions, these two wars,
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6:55 - 6:57the 10 years of sanctions,
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6:57 - 7:01the eight years of occupation,
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7:01 - 7:04the insurgency that's been unleashed on your people,
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7:04 - 7:07the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands
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7:07 - 7:12of civilian deaths,
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7:12 - 7:15all because of oil.
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7:15 - 7:17You can't help but think that.
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7:17 - 7:19You talk about it.
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7:19 - 7:22It's in the forefront of your mind always.
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7:22 - 7:25You say, "How is that possible?"
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7:25 - 7:28And this man, he's every man --
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7:28 - 7:30your grandfather, your uncle,
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7:30 - 7:32your father, your son,
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7:32 - 7:35your neighbor, your professor, your student.
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7:35 - 7:38Once a life of happiness and joy
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7:38 - 7:41and suddenly, pain and sorrow.
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7:41 - 7:44Everyone in your country
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7:44 - 7:47has been touched by the violence,
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7:47 - 7:49the bloodshed, the pain,
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7:49 - 7:51the horror, everybody.
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7:51 - 7:54Not a single person in your country
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7:54 - 7:56has not been touched.
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7:56 - 7:58But there's something else.
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7:58 - 8:00There's something else about these people,
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8:00 - 8:02these Americans who are there.
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8:02 - 8:05There's something else about them that you see -- they don't see themselves.
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8:05 - 8:08And what do you see? They're Christians.
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8:08 - 8:10They're Christians.
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8:10 - 8:13They worship the Christian God, they have crosses, they carry Bibles.
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8:13 - 8:15Their Bibles have a little insignia
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8:15 - 8:18that says "U.S. Army" on them.
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8:19 - 8:22And their leaders, their leaders:
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8:22 - 8:24before they send their sons and daughters
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8:24 - 8:26off to war in your country --
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8:26 - 8:28and you know the reason --
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8:28 - 8:30before they send them off,
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8:30 - 8:32they go to a Christian church, and they pray to their Christian God,
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8:32 - 8:35and they ask for protection and guidance from that god.
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8:35 - 8:37Why?
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8:37 - 8:41Well, obviously, when people die in the war,
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8:41 - 8:43they are Muslims, they are Iraqis --
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8:43 - 8:45they're not Americans.
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8:45 - 8:48You don't want Americans to die. Protect our troops.
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8:48 - 8:50And you feel something about that --
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8:50 - 8:52of course you do.
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8:52 - 8:54And they do wonderful things.
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8:54 - 8:56You read about it, you hear about it.
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8:56 - 8:58They're there to build schools and help people, and that's what they want to do.
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8:58 - 9:00They do wonderful things, but they also do the bad things,
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9:00 - 9:02and you can't tell the difference.
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9:02 - 9:06And this guy, you get a guy like Lt. Gen. William Boykin.
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9:06 - 9:09I mean, here's a guy who says that your God is a false God.
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9:09 - 9:11Your God's an idol; his God is the true God.
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9:11 - 9:14The solution to the problem in the Middle East, according to him,
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9:14 - 9:16is to convert you all to Christianity --
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9:16 - 9:18just get rid of your religion.
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9:18 - 9:20And you know that. Americans don't read about this guy.
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9:20 - 9:23They don't know anything about him, but you do.
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9:23 - 9:25You pass it around. You pass his words around.
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9:25 - 9:28I mean this is serious. You're afraid.
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9:28 - 9:31He was one of the leading commanders in the second invasion of Iraq.
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9:31 - 9:34And you're thinking, "God, if this guy is saying that,
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9:34 - 9:36then all the soldiers must be saying that."
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9:36 - 9:38And this word here,
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9:38 - 9:40George Bush called this war a crusade.
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9:40 - 9:42Man, the Americans, they're just like, "Ah, crusade.
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9:42 - 9:44Whatever. I don't know."
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9:44 - 9:46You know what it means.
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9:46 - 9:48It's a holy war against Muslims.
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9:48 - 9:51Look, invade, subdue them, take their resources.
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9:51 - 9:53If they won't submit, kill them.
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9:53 - 9:55That's what this is about.
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9:55 - 9:58And you're thinking, "My God, these Christians are coming to kill us."
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9:58 - 10:00This is frightening.
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10:00 - 10:03You feel frightened. Of course you feel frightened.
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10:03 - 10:06And this man, Terry Jones:
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10:06 - 10:08I mean here's a guy who wants to burn Korans, right?
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10:08 - 10:10And the Americans: "Ah, he's a knucklehead.
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10:10 - 10:12He's a former hotel manager;
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10:12 - 10:14he's got three-dozen members of his church."
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10:14 - 10:16They laugh him off. You don't laugh him off.
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10:16 - 10:18Because in the context of everything else,
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10:18 - 10:20all the pieces fit.
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10:20 - 10:22I mean, of course, this is how Americans take it,
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10:22 - 10:24so people all over the Middle East, not just in your country,
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10:24 - 10:26are protesting.
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10:26 - 10:28"He wants to burn Korans, our holy book.
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10:28 - 10:30These Christians, who are these Christians?
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10:30 - 10:32They're so evil, they're so mean --
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10:32 - 10:34this is what they're about."
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10:34 - 10:36This is what you're thinking as an Arab Muslim,
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10:36 - 10:38as an Iraqi.
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10:38 - 10:40Of course you're going to think this.
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10:40 - 10:42And then your cousin
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10:42 - 10:44says, "Hey cuz, check out this website.
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10:44 - 10:46You've got to see this -- Bible Boot Camp.
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10:46 - 10:48These Christians are nuts.
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10:48 - 10:51They're training their little kids to be soldiers for Jesus.
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10:51 - 10:53And they take these little kids and they run them through these things
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10:53 - 10:55till they teach them how to say, "Sir, yes, sir,"
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10:55 - 10:58and things like grenade toss and weapons care and maintenance.
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10:58 - 11:00And go to the website.
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11:00 - 11:02It says "U.S. Army" right on it.
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11:02 - 11:05I mean, these Christians, they're nuts. How would they do this to their little kids?"
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11:05 - 11:07And you're reading this website.
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11:07 - 11:10And of course, Christians back in the United States, or anybody,
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11:10 - 11:12says, "Ah, this is some little, tiny church in the middle of nowhere."
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11:12 - 11:14You don't know that.
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11:14 - 11:17For you, this is like all Christians.
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11:17 - 11:19It's all over the Web, Bible Boot Camp.
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11:19 - 11:21And look at this:
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11:21 - 11:23they even teach their kids --
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11:23 - 11:25they train them in the same way the U.S. Marines train.
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11:25 - 11:27Isn't that interesting.
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11:27 - 11:29And it scares you, and it frightens you.
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11:29 - 11:31So these guys, you see them.
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11:31 - 11:34You see, I, Sam Richards, I know who these guys are.
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11:34 - 11:36They're my students, my friends.
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11:36 - 11:38I know what they're thinking: "You don't know."
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11:38 - 11:40When you see them,
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11:40 - 11:43they're something else, they're something else.
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11:43 - 11:46That's what they are to you.
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11:46 - 11:49We don't see it that way in the United States,
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11:49 - 11:52but you see it that way.
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11:54 - 11:56So here.
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11:56 - 11:58Of course, you got it wrong.
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11:58 - 12:01You're generalizing. It's wrong.
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12:01 - 12:03You don't understand the Americans.
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12:03 - 12:05It's not a Christian invasion.
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12:05 - 12:07We're not just there for oil; we're there for lots of reasons.
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12:07 - 12:09You have it wrong. You've missed it.
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12:09 - 12:12And of course, most of you don't support the insurgency;
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12:12 - 12:14you don't support killing Americans;
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12:14 - 12:16you don't support the terrorists.
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12:16 - 12:18Of course you don't. Very few people do.
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12:18 - 12:21But some of you do.
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12:21 - 12:24And this is a perspective.
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12:24 - 12:26Okay, so now, here's what we're going to do.
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12:26 - 12:28Step outside of your shoes
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12:28 - 12:30that you're in right now
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12:30 - 12:32and step back into your normal shoes.
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12:32 - 12:34So everyone's back in the room, okay.
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12:34 - 12:36Now here comes the radical experiment.
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12:36 - 12:38So we're all back home.
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12:38 - 12:40This photo: this woman,
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12:40 - 12:42man, I feel her.
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12:42 - 12:44I feel her.
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12:44 - 12:46She's my sister,
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12:46 - 12:49my wife, my cousin, my neighbor.
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12:49 - 12:51She's anybody to me.
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12:51 - 12:53These guys standing there, everybody in the photo,
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12:53 - 12:56I feel this photo, man.
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12:56 - 12:58So here's what I want you to do.
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12:58 - 13:01Let's go back to my first example of the Chinese.
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13:02 - 13:04So I want you to go there.
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13:04 - 13:07So it's all about coal, and the Chinese are here in the United States.
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13:07 - 13:09And what I want you to do is picture her as a Chinese woman
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13:09 - 13:12receiving a Chinese flag
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13:12 - 13:15because her loved one has died in America
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13:15 - 13:17in the coal uprising.
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13:17 - 13:19And the soldiers are Chinese,
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13:19 - 13:21and everybody else is Chinese.
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13:21 - 13:24As an American, how do you feel about this picture?
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13:26 - 13:29What do you think about that scene?
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13:31 - 13:33Okay, try this. Bring it back.
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13:33 - 13:35This is the scene here.
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13:35 - 13:37It's an American, American soldiers,
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13:37 - 13:39American woman who lost her loved one
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13:39 - 13:42in the Middle East -- in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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13:42 - 13:44Now, put yourself in the shoes,
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13:44 - 13:46go back to the shoes
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13:46 - 13:49of an Arab Muslim living in Iraq.
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13:50 - 13:53What are you feeling and thinking
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13:53 - 13:55about this photo,
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13:55 - 13:58about this woman?
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14:05 - 14:07Okay,
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14:07 - 14:09now follow me on this,
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14:09 - 14:11because I'm taking a big risk here.
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14:11 - 14:14And so I'm going to invite you to take a risk with me.
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14:14 - 14:16These gentlemen here, they're insurgents.
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14:16 - 14:18They were caught by the American soldiers,
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14:18 - 14:20trying to kill Americans.
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14:20 - 14:23And maybe they succeeded. Maybe they succeeded.
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14:23 - 14:25Put yourself in the shoes
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14:25 - 14:29of the Americans who caught them.
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14:29 - 14:31Can you feel the rage?
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14:31 - 14:33Can you feel that you just want to take these guys
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14:33 - 14:35and wring their necks?
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14:35 - 14:37Can you go there?
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14:37 - 14:39It shouldn't be that difficult.
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14:39 - 14:42You just -- oh, man.
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14:44 - 14:48Now, put yourself in their shoes.
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14:50 - 14:52Are they brutal killers
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14:52 - 14:55or patriotic defenders?
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14:55 - 14:57Which one?
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14:58 - 15:01Can you feel their anger,
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15:01 - 15:03their fear,
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15:03 - 15:05their rage
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15:05 - 15:07at what has happened in their country?
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15:07 - 15:09Can you imagine
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15:09 - 15:12that maybe one of them in the morning
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15:12 - 15:15bent down to their child and hugged their child
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15:15 - 15:19and said, "Dear, I'll be back later.
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15:19 - 15:22I'm going out to defend your freedom, your lives.
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15:22 - 15:26I'm going out to look out for us,
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15:26 - 15:28the future of our country."
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15:28 - 15:30Can you imagine that?
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15:30 - 15:33Can you imagine saying that?
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15:33 - 15:36Can you go there?
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15:37 - 15:40What do you think they're feeling?
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15:47 - 15:49You see, that's empathy.
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15:49 - 15:52It's also understanding.
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15:52 - 15:54Now, you might ask,
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15:54 - 15:57"Okay, Sam, so why do you do this sort of thing?
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15:57 - 15:59Why would you use this example of all examples?"
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15:59 - 16:02And I say, because ... because.
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16:02 - 16:04You're allowed to hate these people.
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16:04 - 16:07You're allowed to just hate them
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16:07 - 16:09with every fiber of your being.
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16:09 - 16:11And if I can get you
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16:11 - 16:13to step into their shoes
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16:13 - 16:15and walk an inch,
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16:15 - 16:17one tiny inch,
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16:17 - 16:20then imagine the kind of sociological analysis
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16:20 - 16:24that you can do in all other aspects of your life.
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16:24 - 16:26You can walk a mile
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16:26 - 16:28when it comes to understanding
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16:28 - 16:31why that person's driving 40 miles per hour
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16:31 - 16:34in the passing lane,
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16:34 - 16:36or your teenage son,
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16:36 - 16:38or your neighbor who annoys you
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16:38 - 16:40by cutting his lawn on Sunday mornings.
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16:40 - 16:43Whatever it is, you can go so far.
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16:43 - 16:45And this is what I tell my students:
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16:45 - 16:49step outside of your tiny, little world.
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16:49 - 16:51Step inside of the tiny, little world
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16:51 - 16:53of somebody else.
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16:53 - 16:57And then do it again and do it again and do it again.
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16:57 - 16:59And suddenly all these tiny, little worlds,
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16:59 - 17:01they come together in this complex web.
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17:01 - 17:04And they build a big, complex world.
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17:04 - 17:06And suddenly, without realizing it,
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17:06 - 17:09you're seeing the world differently.
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17:09 - 17:11Everything has changed.
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17:11 - 17:13Everything in your life has changed.
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17:13 - 17:16And that's, of course, what this is about.
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17:16 - 17:19Attend to other lives,
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17:19 - 17:21other visions.
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17:21 - 17:23Listen to other people,
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17:23 - 17:26enlighten ourselves.
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17:26 - 17:28I'm not saying
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17:28 - 17:30that I support the terrorists in Iraq,
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17:30 - 17:32but as a sociologist,
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17:32 - 17:34what I am saying
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17:34 - 17:37is I understand.
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17:38 - 17:42And now perhaps -- perhaps -- you do too.
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17:42 - 17:44Thank you.
-
17:44 - 17:46(Applause)
- Title:
- A radical experiment in empathy
- Speaker:
- Sam Richards
- Description:
-
By leading the Americans in his audience at TEDxPSU step by step through the thought process, sociologist Sam Richards sets an extraordinary challenge: can they understand -- not approve of, but understand -- the motivations of an Iraqi insurgent? And by extension, can anyone truly understand and empathize with another?
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 17:47
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for A radical experiment in empathy | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A radical experiment in empathy | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A radical experiment in empathy | ||
TED edited English subtitles for A radical experiment in empathy | ||
TED added a translation |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 3/2/2017. The word "[understand]" (on-screen text) was added at 15:51.