Walter Lippman once said, "The way in which the world is imagined will determine at any given moment what men will do."
Think of that line as you watch the evening news or read the newspaper. The sad truth is that a large number of the images we see on a regular basis are about fear, mistrust and violence. Sometimes, those feel like the only possibilities.
Stories shape our lives and our societies. Extremists understand that very well. A few months ago, The Washington Post did an exceptional video news story on how Muslim extremists use film as a weapon in their war.
“Without the video, it’s just an attack,” details just how deliberate and strategic these groups are when it comes to using video. Murdering people is only one of their goals. Spreading the idea of Islam as a violent religion and convincing people that we are in a clash of civilizations is just as central to their agenda.
So what would it look like if we refused to forfeit our imaginations to those people whose purpose is to spread poison? If we told different stories, made films that highlighted other possibilities – of cooperation instead of violence, understanding instead of mistrust.
That was the documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim’s core idea when she came up with Pangea Day (I’m on the Advisory Board), her TED Prize Wish (watch the video of her Ted Prize talk).
What would happen if we had a day devoted to films which told the story of a common life together?
If you’re intrigued, the Pangea Day trailer is a great place to start.
Be a part of it this Saturday May 10, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 24 films will be shown, drawn from 2500 hundred submissions. There is a fabulous lineup of music. Speakers include Queen Noor of Jordan, Karen Armstrong, Ishmael Beah and yours truly. Huge Pangea Day events are being held everywhere from London to Los Angeles, Cairo to Kigali. And there are thousands of smaller ones also.
Watch the world tell a different story of what the world could be.
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