Dance

This brought tears to my eyes. Just dance and remember that we are all more alike than different. Facts about this video: 14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.

The Dawning of A New Day

Charter for Compassion

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become even broader. The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). TED.com makes the best talks and performances available to the public, for free. http://www.ted.com/

There is also something called the TED Prize. It was designed to leverage the TED Community's exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of "One Wish to Change the World." After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. The TED community then steps up and participates in the granting of the wish. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

One of the winners this year is Karen Armstrong, who is one of the most provocative, original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world. Armstrong is a former Roman Catholic nun who left a British convent to pursue a degree in modern literature at Oxford. In 1982 she wrote a book about her seven years in the convent, Through the Narrow Gate, that angered and challenged Catholics worldwide; her recent book The Spiral Staircase discusses her subsequent spiritual awakening after leaving the convent, when she began to develop her iconoclastic take on the great monotheistic religions.

She has written more than 20 books around the ideas of what Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common, and around their effect on world events, including the magisterial A History of God and Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today’s World. Her latest book is The Bible: A Biography. Her meditations on personal faith and religion (she calls herself a freelance monotheist) spark discussion — especially her take on fundamentalism, which she sees in a historical context, as an outgrowth of modern culture.

Below is the video discussing her TED Wish - the creation of a Charter for Compassion. There is a web site for the project that provides more details. Everyone is also invited to offer their views and ideas for the charter here. The Charter will be written in stages. The first section The Preamble is open for commentary for 4 weeks. The web site actually show a clock counting down. Once that section closes they will move on to Affirmations on November 20th, following by Actions on November 27th and then a Final Declaration on December 4th.



This second video is the talk Karen Armstrong gave at TED, which includes the announcement of her wish.

Mankind Is No Island

The Golden Rule

Norman Rockwell ~ The Golden Rule

"Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You"

Why did humans evolve to have morals?

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies how -- and why -- we evolved to be moral. By understanding more about our moral roots, his hope is that we can learn to be civil and understanding of those whose morals don't match ours, but who are equally good and moral people on their own terms.

Haidt studies morality and emotion in the context of culture. He asks: Why did humans evolve to have morals -- and why did we all evolve to have such different morals, to the point that our moral differences may make us deadly enemies? It's a question with deep repercussions in war and peace -- and in modern politics, where reasoned discourse has been replaced by partisan anger and cries of "You just don't get it!"

He asks, "Can't we all disagree more constructively?" and suggests we might build a more civil and productive discourse by understanding the moral psychology of those we disagree with, and committing to a more civil political process. He's also active in the study of positive psychology and human flourishing.

Learn more about his drive for a more productive and civil politics -- and sign a pledge to to engage in civil politics -- on his website CivilPolitics.org. And take an eye-opening quiz about your own morals at YourMorals.org.

We Are On Our Way

Greetings Fellow Americans!

Last night it was so moving to watch crowds of people in all corners of this nation celebrate and share in such a momentous historical event.

It was emotionally touching to take in all the faces of all colors expressing joy and shedding tears. So many people had a look of hope shining in their eyes. Through their smiles and tears and shouts of "Yes We Can" or "Obama" there was such a sense of pride.

This is such an extremely proud moment for this country.

Throughout this election the words of Martin Luther King have played in my head: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I was so moved by the African American newscasters who spoke last night. Several shed tears as they shared some personal story. I reflected on how there are already African Americans who have reached positions of power, wealth and great success in this country. Yet it is clear that there were still deep rooted beliefs in limitations and inequality. This election gave so many young people hope and it inspired older generations who never thought they would live to see this day.

All I can think is that a Barack Obama victory is so incredibly and powerfully good for the soul of this nation.

This country has shown that we are moving past the old stories of inequality. We are moving past an outdated era when people were judged by the pigment of their skin. We are moving past a time of discrimination. We may not be there completely yet - but we are on our way!

Obama has stated that he is not a perfect man and that he will not be a perfect president. Asking for perfection from anyone is too high an expectation. But I have believed, since I first read his books a couple of years ago and as I've heard him speak over the course of the last two years, that he does have a very special ability to bring people together and to inspire a nation to be the best it can be.

The thing is - it isn't just up to President Obama to solve all of our problems. I don't expect him to be a "savoir" who can solve all the worlds ills. I don't expect him to do everything right. Yet I have been listening when he has emphasized in speeches and debates the things he values. He consistently has shared how he values education, how he values the environment and how he values the people of this country having access to the health services they need.

These three values represent for me three basic needs of all people on this planet.
1) Anyone who has been really ill knows that one's health is often taken for granted and that a quality life is dependent on good health.
2) If we don't tend to our environment this planet we all call home will suffer and in turn our lives will suffer too.
3) Lastly if we don't value education and make sure everyone has the opportunity to receive a good one, the consequences of ignorance are incredibly complex and lead to such things as unemployment, poverty, crime, extremism and violence. As my wise and longtime friend Karin put so well "Where there are no jobs and/or opportunity for a nation's young, you find hatred and intolerance."

Responsibility lies with each and everyone of us. It is also up to us to make a difference in our own communities of family, friends, city, county and state.... And that is the power of inspiring people to believe that "Yes We Can!"

The 44th President of the United States of America - Barack Obama!

The next First Family - the Obama's!

How To Live To Be 100

100-year-old decides it’s time to retire
L.A. transit worker missed just one day of work in 75 years

By Mark Mullen Correspondent
Wed., March. 22, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Few folks get to reach the age of 100. Fewer still get to celebrate it with a busload of friends — and with the Los Angeles Laker Girls.

But for Arthur “Deke” Winston, turning 100 is no big deal. Not going to work from now on is what will take some getting used to.

“I'm flabbergasted,” says Winston. “I'm happy, I'm nervous.”

Winston retired this week after 75 years of cleaning and then supervising the maintenance of first, Los Angeles trolleys, and then buses. He never took one sick day and only missed one day of work — when his wife passed away.

“He gets here before I do,” says Winston’s boss, Alex DiNuzzo, the Metro Transit Authority manager, adding, “And I get here at 5 in the morning.”

Winston was born in 1906 — when Teddy Roosevelt was president, when corn flakes were introduced and when finding a job wasn't easy for a black man.

But he distinguished himself with his professionalism and stamina, outlasting all of his co-workers including his buddy, Steve Hearn.

“You talking about the bunny rabbit, the energizer,” says Hearn. “That's the energizer in there!”
What’s Arthur Winston's recipe for success?

“I don’t smoke and don’t drink,” Winston says. “Never did.”

And, he advises, stay away from credit cards.

Arthur went about his work without much fanfare until Wednesday, when the media crashed his retirement party.

“I guess I’m a star!” he says.

The 100-year-old surprised nobody by announcing that during his retirement, he'll stay busy — volunteering, he says, helping old people.

Click this link for the original story and a video: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11964284/

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive

The follow up story is that Mr. Winston passed away a month later from congestive heart failure. A wonderful article was written about him in the LA Times.

Arthur Winston; 100; 76-Year Transit Worker
By Kurt StreeterApril 15, 2006 in print edition B-12

Arthur Winston, who set a remarkable personal record by missing only a single day in 76 years of work, died of congestive heart failure Thursday as he slept in his South Los Angeles home. He was 100.

Many of his colleagues and friends honored him by calling him Mr. Winston. He cleaned Los Angeles buses and trains for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The only shift he missed was the day in 1988 that his wife died. Otherwise, his bosses at the MTA said, they had never known him to arrive late or leave early. He retired March 23, one day after he turned 100.

Why then?

“Oh,” he said with a shrug, “100 years seemed like enough.”

Mr. Winston’s great-granddaughter, Brandii Wright, said Friday that working until he turned 100 was a long-sought milestone. “He accomplished his goal,” she said. “After reaching that, he felt like he did what he had to do in life. It was OK to move on. I’m just really proud of him.”

Mr. Winston was slender and well-groomed, a tan-skinned man who liked to step out of his house each morning with his shirt freshly pressed.

Even in his last years, he walked with the upright dignity of a man utterly confident in himself and what he stood for. His chin rose, and his almond-shaped eyes sparkled when he ticked off what he considered his greatest accomplishments.

They were confronting the racism he experienced as a black man, living long enough to see his great-great-grandchildren, and being a witness to so much history.

Still, he did not consider himself particularly special. “I’m just a working man,” he said in a 2005 interview, five months before he died. “Nothing more, nothing less. My daddy taught me the right way to do things. I just tried to follow what Daddy said.”

Urban Storyteller

Never shy about making his feelings known, Mr. Winston was something of an urban storyteller. At work, at home and in his neighborhood, youngsters, including people in their 60s and 70s, hovered around when he gave advice. He spoke on everything from politics to finances to the importance of work.

Foremost among his beliefs was that a person should stay active as long as possible. “Stop in one place too long, you freeze up,” he would say. “Freeze up, you’re done for.” The best way to keep from freezing up? That was simple, he said. “Keep working. Work and work some more. That’s all there is to this live-a-long-life thing.”

There were other nuggets. In his bluesy, scratchy voice, Mr. Winston often opined on the dangers of racking up debt and buying things that are not needed – “fancy cars and such.” And he warned about the dangers that came with too much alcohol, too much fried food, too much exercise or too many pills.

At work on a winter day in 2005, he told a group of colleagues that one of the reasons he had lived so long was because he opted for a few tablespoons of castor oil whenever he felt sick. Over-the-counter medication, he said, was something to avoid. “Pills are one of the biggest problems people face today, especially these old people you see out there,” he said. “I’ve never in all my life seen so many people taking so many pills. And at the same time it seems like people are nothing but sicker than ever. It’s a shame, all these old people dying over the pills they take.”

No matter what contributed to his spunk and longevity – good genes, an aversion to modern medicine, or just sheer determination – the results were evident. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor said that he had never heard of anyone who had worked as long and as continuously as Mr. Winston. In 1997, MTA officials named the bus yard where he worked after him.

Like Clockwork

Even as he neared 100, Mr. Winston kept at it. Like clockwork, 15 minutes before each shift, he pulled into the Arthur Winston Bus Division. He parked in a spot reserved for him, checked to be sure his blue uniform was tidy and marched off to clock in.

He did slow down. In recent years, he took longer breaks. He sat in the warmth of the second-floor break room, watched CNN and offered up a steady stream of commentary on current issues.

He grew angry at the Bush administration, the war in Iraq and the state of black America, which he considered to be in a shambles.

Nonetheless, he kept doing what he was asked. “Puts in his eight-hour days,” said his boss, Alex DiNuzzo. “He never complains. He’s always willing to adjust to do what is needed. Works faster than a lot of guys. And does it with the best attitude out there.”

Each morning, he eagerly walked the sprawling South Los Angeles bus yard. He cleaned grime off bus floors, wiped down bus windows and supervised a small crew of workers.

Following his lead was easy, his co-workers said. They held him in too much awe to question him.
“You see him and you think to yourself, ‘That man, after all he had seen and done – why, he’s better than a history book. Look, he’s still at it,’ ” said Roy Turner, a bus mechanic. “I think about him when I get tired. It’s like, how can I be tired? Look at this man, almost 100, and he’s not tired.”

Mr. Winston grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, the son of a sharecropper who lived until he was 99.

In 1924, when Mr. Winston was 17 and fresh from the Midwest, he took a job cleaning trolley cars for the Los Angeles Railway Co., a predecessor to the MTA.

He worked for four years and then quit, partly because he was frustrated. He wanted to be a driver. But the company did not allow black drivers.

On Jan. 24, 1934, he decided to come back to work. When the transit agency finally let blacks drive, he was well into adulthood – he and his wife, Frances, were busy raising kids. “It just seemed too late to change,” he said.

He remained a transit janitor. From the vantage point of his bus yard, he witnessed the city’s growing pains. He saw whites leave South Los Angeles, saw blacks become a majority, then saw blacks begin to leave as Latinos came in larger numbers. He witnessed periods when people got along and moments when the city exploded in riots.

To his chagrin, he watched the destruction of the dense network of trolleys that connected parts of Los Angeles. Then, over the last two decades, he saw the slow rebirth of commuter rail.
Keeping Positive

Mr. Winston took constant change in stride. He said he tried hard to be sure that bitter times did not defeat him. He used moments in history as touchstones, reminders of his good fortune to live so long.

From the 1940s until the day he died, he lived in a small white house just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. In his last years, he shared the home with his great-granddaughter and his great-great-grandson.

“I guess, if you live long enough, you’ll see everything,” he said one day in 2004, as he sat on the steps of his house and looked out at his street. “Sometimes you see things come around twice. I don’t mind. I like it.

“My daddy taught me how to work, and he also taught me that, no matter what’s going on around you, just stay strong on the inside. Don’t bother nobody. Don’t let nothin’ destroy you. No matter how things are going in the outside world, just keep going. Keep going, and learn from what you see in front of you.”

Mr. Winston is survived by his brother, North Winston, 98, his great-granddaughter Brandii Wright, 29, and his great-great-grandson, Kenny, 4. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Faithful Central Bible Church’s Tabernacle, 321 N. Eucalyptus Ave., Inglewood.

Who Is The Original Maverick?