TED TALKS: SARAH SILVERMAN

[Chig]

This is controversial.  Google it and you will know why.  I didn't think it would ever see the light of day.

And I happen to be Team Sarah on this, not Team TED.

 (see video in comment below)

What the heck is so special about TED anyway?

TED TALKS 2

[Chig]

[NatureJunkie]

Okay, I had to google to find out why this was controversial, as I had not seen or known of Sarah's appearance on TED before. Was it her references to sexuality? To making Jesus a superstar by giving him an early death? To poking fun at elderly people who are closer to death than younger people? No. It was about adopting a mentally-challenged child that wouldn't outlive her.

I was not offended by that idea, and I've had similar thoughts with regard to the adoption of pets. I guess TED likes to brand itself with a certain image, and Sarah didn't conform to the brand. But I still like TED. I consider it to be infotainment, nothing more. But very entertaining it is, most of the time. And especially when Sarah is on it.

[Chig]

Sarah was actually making a point about public speaking and honesty. Her humor runs deep despite the deceptively shallow subject matter, or presentation.   She is a great admirer of TED.

In what she did and the outcome and even the tone I made in this blog I was making a point.

Sometimes we focus on presentation over substance, even when that substance is incredibly important.  The end result of this usually is not a great outcome.   This is probably a big reason why I left another site recently.   There is so much style and repetitive drama drowning out the subject matter.   We have lost the ability to see more than two sides of an issue.   As of late we use fists on symbols of pacifism.   (One could see that as a symbol of solidarity, but a fist is closed off, it is threatening.  That is what I see that we are becoming. Can you picture Ghandi with a fist?  Times are changing.  Back then substance meant more than style. )

 

It took a number of people up the road from me being shot to start seeing this all around. And now it weighs on my mind even more given recent events in another community.   When will we look to someone to rescue us from ourselves?  Will that someone take away all that we thought we stood for?  I see this day coming if we continue on our present course.

 

So truth be told, I don't think TED sucks.  I do think, however, that we do focus on presentation and miss out on what really is happening way too often.  We become the fist instead of the extended hand which is open.