that all of our survival is tied to the survival of everyone; that our visions of technology and design and entertainment and creativity have to be married with visions of humanity, compassion and justice. And more than anything, for those of you who share that, I've simply come to tell you to keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.
If equality is not accepted, then humanity will never be able to grow. In order for humanity to evolve, justice needs to be achieved.
And because of that, there's this basic human dignity that must be respected by law.
We are all human and we need to understand the consequences of our actions, which should start with improvement and reflection, not with death.
of meeting Rosa Parks.
If he used to work with Rosa Parks, then this shows how long he has been fighting for equality and how invested he is in helping others achieve justice.
And because of that, we really haven't understood what it's meant to do the things we've done historically.
We need to look back and understand the history of the struggle of racial equality, because there shouldn't be discrimination in the justice system still.
A kind of astonishing error rate -- one out of nine people, innocent. I mean, it's fascinating. In aviation, we would never let people fly on airplanes if, for every nine planes that took off, one would crash.
He is making this comparison to explain how the justice system doesn't do enough work for cases of people on death row. If there were a higher rate in plane crashes, they would investigate every plane thoroughly. They need to investigate every case thoroughly.
Death penalty in America is defined by error. For every nine people who have been executed, we've actually identified one innocent person who's been exonerated and released from death row. A kind of astonishing error rate -- one out of nine people, innocent.
The justice system is reflects discrimination, because people ignore the nation's history of racial injustice, which needs to be payed attention to more because we are fighting for something that has been fought for way too long. Everyone needs to understand how discriminative the system is, which needs to change and reflect social justice.
We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent.
If you have wealth, then in the eyes of the U.S. you are "superior" than those in poverty, which is not how it should be, as everyone needs to be cared for.
Then she said, "The second thing I want you to promise me is that you'll always do the right thing, even when the right thing is the hard thing."
This portrays his career, as he is an attorney and does the right thing by helping others get off of death row. I believe this shows his grandma was a big influence in his life and his choices.
I spend most of my time in very low-income communities, in the projects and places where there's a great deal of hopelessness.
Tells that he likes to help others in bad situations, and those less fortunate.
that those who liveoutside our echo chamber might also be more complicatedthan we have imagined.
What we thought we knew about people may not be entirely true, as we have our own perception of them based on how they express themselves through their values.
Such self-deception involves,among other things, the expression of values thatwe are unwilling to acknowledge.
We are embarrassed to admit that we do certain things, especially to others. But sometimes the things we do that we don't like to acknowledge, can happen unconsciously.
would likely not have admitted to at the time. (Now I try to do better, but as a personraised in New York, I have difficulty. And you willcertainly have noticed that even thatadmission expresses a value associated with beingsomeone from New York.)If we reflect on the stories we tell about ourselves,both to others and to ourselves, wemay well find out things about who we are that complicatethe view we would prefer tobe identified with.
If you are truly trying to get to know someone, it is better to express values that actually pertain to you, as it may complicate your connection going forward.
Some of thevalues we express are not values wewould necessarily want to acknowledge.
We may be embarrassed to let others know about our true selves as they may view us as a differently.
But when people come to identifythemselves with stories abouttheir difficulties, then they are not merely livingthrough difficulties but, in some casesunderstandably, expressing values about their lives,ways of living that they identifywith.
Some people may express what they have gone through and how they dealt with it which expresses growth. They also could be going through things and explain their way of coping.
n the latter case,what we are doing is dissociating ourselves from avalue we might be associated withand thus implicitly associated ourselves with a differentone.
We may not stay true to ourselves when we are telling a story, because we want to sound more interesting.
The audience for thesestories, of course, affect the stories we tell
The way we display ourselves towards others can affect how they perceive us.
We "value" or take importance on the way we see ourselves and how we want others to see us, which can boost our ego.
That is why I shared Alec’s story at a recent demonstration led by Type 1 diabetes patients outside the headquarters of insulin manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company, demanding increased transparency and lower prices.
Advocate/attempting to change manufacturer's insulin policies.
Globally, half of the people who need insulin can’t reliably get access to it. With 6 million people in the US insulin-dependent, and nearly 40 percent of Americans uninsured or facing high deductibles that leave their medicine costs uncovered,
Most people who need insulin are unable to obtain it, which can cause huge medical bills
Access to insulin, and other life-essential medicines, is a human right.
Main claim
$450 a month for the premium
just to have insurance
For Alec and others with diabetes, this presents a deadly situation. Many people with type 2 diabetes need regular access to insulin to live; all persons with Type 1 do. Insulin is a 95-year-old drug whose discoverers sold their patents for $1 each, but its price has increased over 1,000 percent since the late 1990s.
Background information
Background information