Health

How to tame your inner advice monster

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IDEAS.TED.COM May 18, 2020 / Michael Bungay Stanier This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from people in the TED community; browse through all the posts here. I caught up with a friend of mine a while ago. She’s smart, she’s brilliant, and she’s talented. After we did the usual warm-up chitchat, she looked at me and said, “Michael, you’re a good guy. I need your advice.” My advice monster was delighted. She started telling me what was going on, and I started to pretend to listen because, quite frankly, my advice monster already knew exactly what I wanted to tell her. Finally, she finished so I was able to share my brilliant advice —  — and make no mistake it was brilliant. But my advice went nowhere; my advice monster had sabotaged the conversation. All of you know your advice monster. Somebody starts telling you about something. Even though you don’t really know the situation or the people involved and you certainly don’t have the full context, after about 10 seconds your advice monster is like, “Oh, oh, oh, I’ve got something to say here.” The problem isn’t with giving advice. Instead, the problem is when giving advice becomes our default response. There are three ways that advice giving goes bad. The first issue with advice giving is that we’re often solving the wrong problem. We get seduced into thinking the first […]

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Health and Wellbeing

TED Talks: Sleep is your Superpower

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Sleep is your life-support system and Mother Nature’s best effort yet at immortality, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. In this deep dive into the science of slumber, Walker shares the wonderfully good things that happen when you get sleep — and the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don’t, for both your brain and body. Learn more about sleep’s […]

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Ted Talks

The secret to making Zoom meetings meaningful for you and your coworkers — ideas.ted.com

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Instead of “How are you doing?”, what’s a better opening question to ask on a video call? And why is it OK — even good — to let your coworkers see the dirty dishes in your kitchen sink? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant and his mentor Jane Dutton explain how to forge real connections in your online meetings. The secret to making Zoom meetings meaningful for you and your coworkers — ideas.ted.com

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Health and Wellbeing

3 ways to help you be your best self in your relationship

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IDEAS.TED.COM Mar 3, 2020 / Daniella Balarezo Glenn Harvey “Resentment is a relationship killer,” says psychotherapist and couples counselor Susan Adler. If we want happier relationships, we need to drop the blame, own our mistakes, and act in ways that increase connection, not conflict. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a […]

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CBD

Here’s the truth about CBD, from a cannabis researcher

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IDEAS.TED.COM Sep 23, 2019 / Jeffrey Chen, MD iStock Is CBD a cure-all — or snake oil? Jeffrey Chen, executive director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, explains the science behind the cannabis product. CBD gummies. CBD shots in your latte. CBD dog biscuits. From spas to drug stores, supermarkets to cafes, wherever you go in the US today, you’re likely to see products infused with CBD. There are cosmetics, vape pens, pills and, of course, the extract itself; there are even CBD-containing sexual lubricants for women which aim to reduce pelvic pain or enhance sensation. CBD has been hailed by some users as having cured their pain, anxiety, insomnia, depression or seizures, and it’s been touted by advertisers as a supplement that can treat all of the above and combat aging and chronic disease. As Executive Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, I’m dedicated to unearthing the scientific truth — the good and the bad — behind cannabis and CBD. My interest was sparked in 2014 when I was a medical student at UCLA, and I discovered a parent successfully treating her child’s severe epilepsy with CBD. I was surprised and intrigued. Despite California legalizing medical cannabis in 1996, we weren’t taught anything about cannabis or CBD in med school. I did research and found other families and children like Charlotte Figi reporting success with CBD, and I knew it was something that needed to be investigated. I established Cannabis Research Initiative in the fall of 2017, and today […]

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Celebrate Life

There’s an art to happy memories — you can make more by experiencing more “first”s

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IDEAS.TED.COM Jan 14, 2020 / Meik Wiking Jared Oriel Studies show we’re better at remembering the novel and the new, so let’s use this tendency to add to our storehouse of memorable and meaningful moments, says happiness expert Meik Wiking. Ask any older person to recall some of their memories, and there’s a good chance they will tell you stories from when they were between the ages of 15 and 30. This is known as the reminiscence effect, or reminiscence bump. Memory research is sometimes conducted by using cue words. If I say the word “dog,” what memory comes to mind? Or “book’? Or “grapefruit’? It’s best to use words that are not related to a certain period in life. For instance, the phrase “driver’s license” is more likely to prompt memories from when you were a specific age than the word “lamp.” In studies, when participants were shown a series of cue words and asked about the memories they associate with those words and how old they were at the time of the memory, their responses will typically produce a curve with a characteristic shape, the reminiscence bump. The recency effect — a final upward flip of the curve — can usually be seen, too. For example, when asked what memory comes to mind when cued with the word “book,” what people have read recently may pop up more easily than what they read 10 years ago. You can also see the reminiscence […]

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Celebrate Life

How you can use the power of celebration to make new habits stick

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IDEAS.TED.COM Jan 6, 2020 / BJ Fogg Krystal Quiles It doesn’t take 21 days to wire in a habit, says psychologist BJ Fogg. Sometimes, all you need is a shot of positive feeling and emotion, a dose of celebration. Celebrating is a great way to reinforce small changes — and pave the way for big successes. Psychologist BJ Fogg is the founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University — he’s coached over 40,000 people in his behavior change methods and influenced countless more. His Tiny Habits method states that a new behavior happens when three elements come together: motivation, ability and a prompt.  If we really want to make lasting changes in our lives, Fogg believes we need to break them down into specific, easy behaviors (what he calls Tiny Habits), and find ways to trigger and reward them. Taking 30 seconds or less, a Tiny Habit is fast, simple and will grow For example, instead of having “get in shape” as a vague and intimidating goal, do two push-ups every time you make your morning coffee — that’s your Tiny Habit. After a while, you can increase the number of push-ups and expand into different exercises. In working with thousands of people, Fogg has found one thing really helps fledgling habits to stick: Celebrating them. Here, he explains how the power of celebration can wire new behaviors into our lives — and make us feel great in the process. Linda had […]

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CBD

Here’s the truth about CBD, from a cannabis researcher

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IDEAS.TED.COM Sep 23, 2019 / Jeffrey Chen, MD Is CBD a cure-all — or snake oil? Jeffrey Chen, executive director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, explains the science behind the cannabis product. CBD gummies. CBD shots in your latte. CBD dog biscuits. From spas to drug stores, supermarkets to cafes, wherever you go in the US today, you’re likely to see products infused with CBD. There are cosmetics, vape pens, pills and, of course, the extract itself; there are even CBD-containing sexual lubricants for women which aim to reduce pelvic pain or enhance sensation. CBD has been hailed by some users as having cured their pain, anxiety, insomnia, depression or seizures, and it’s been touted by advertisers as a supplement that can treat all of the above and combat aging and chronic disease. As Executive Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, I’m dedicated to unearthing the scientific truth — the good and the bad — behind cannabis and CBD. My interest was sparked in 2014 when I was a medical student at UCLA, and I discovered a parent successfully treating her child’s severe epilepsy with CBD. I was surprised and intrigued. Despite California legalizing medical cannabis in 1996, we weren’t taught anything about cannabis or CBD in med school. I did research and found other families and children like Charlotte Figi reporting success with CBD, and I knew it was something that needed to be investigated. I established Cannabis Research Initiative in the fall of 2017, and today we […]

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America

How does impeachment work? A quick TED explainer

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IDEAS.TED.COM Sep 27, 2019 / Alex Gendler Confused about the process? Join the rest of us. Read this explainer, adapted from a TED-Ed lesson, and get up to speed on “articles of impeachment,” “supermajorities” and “managers” in a flash. For almost every job in the world, it’s understood that a person can be fired — whether for crime, incompetence or poor performance. But what if your job happens to be one of the most powerful positions in the country? Like president of the United States? Or vice president? Or justice of the Supreme Court? That’s where impeachment comes in. So, how does the process work? Despite how most people use the term, impeachment does not mean removing a person from office. Instead, impeachment refers to the formal accusation that launches a trial. When the US Constitution was written in 1787, impeachment was enshrined in Article 1 as a power of Congress that applied to any civil officers — up to and including the president. Although demands for impeachment can come from any member of the public, only the House of Representatives has the power to initiate the process. The House begins by referring the matter to a committee, usually the Committee on Rules and the Committee on the Judiciary. These committees review the accusations, examine the evidence, and issue a recommendation. If they find sufficient grounds to proceed, the House holds a separate vote on each of the specific charges, otherwise known as Articles of Impeachment. If one or more of […]

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Health and Wellbeing

Prevent unnecessary medical care — by asking your doctor these 4 questions first

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TED TALKS Jul 22, 2019 / Daryl Chen Justin Tran By raising questions and taking on a more active role in decision making, patients can do their part to avoid needless medications, tests, treatments or procedures, says neurosurgeon Christer Mjåset. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice […]

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Moving Forward

Where in the world will you find the most advanced e-government? Estonia. IDEAS​.TED.COM

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IDEAS.TED.COM Mar 15, 2018 / Andrew Keen This tiny republic has the most startups per person and the fastest broadband speeds, and it offers something no other country does: e-residency. Estonia is aiming to create the ideal information society. Technology thinker and entrepreneur Andrew Keen goes there to find out how it works. The future sometimes appears in the unlikeliest of places. The tiny country on the northeastern edge of Europe known as Estonia — or “E-stonia” as former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves calls it — has the most startups per person, the zippiest broadband speeds, and the most advanced e-government in the world. Estonia has had the ill fortune to share a border with Russia and a sea with Denmark, Sweden and Germany, regional powers that have all been rather too related to the little Baltic republic. And yet this land of just 28,000 square miles is today — with South Korea, Israel, Singapore and its Scandinavian neighbors — one of the most wired and innovative countries. The government and people of Estonia are trying to invent the ideal information society and figuring out how to live well in cyberspace. Estonia is the first country in the world to offer “e-residency”: an electronic passport that offers any businessperson the right to use legitimate Estonian legal or accounting online services and digital technologies. With this initiative, the country is disrupting the age-old intimacy between physical territory and citizenship. The e-residency […]

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Employment

Sorry to bother you, but do you say “sorry” too much? What to say instead IDEAS.TED.COM

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IDEAS.TED.COM Mar 11, 2019 / Daniella Balarezo Jenice Kim When we needlessly apologize, we end up making ourselves small and diminish what we’re trying to express, says sociologist Maja Jovanovic. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community. To see all the posts, go here. Think about all the times you use the word “sorry” in a typical day. There are the necessary “sorry”s — when you bump into someone, when you need to cancel plans with a friend. But what about the unnecessary “sorry”s? The “sorry, this may be an obvious idea” at a meeting, the “sorry to cause trouble” when rescheduling a haircut, the “sorry, there’s a spill in the dairy aisle” at the supermarket. Canadian sociologist Maja Jovanovic believes the “sorry”s we sprinkle through our days hurt us. They make us appear smaller and more timid than we really are, and they can undercut our confidence. Jovanovic, who teaches at McMaster University and Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, became interested in this topic when she attended a conference four years ago. The four women on a panel were, she says, “experts in their chosen fields. Among them, they had published hundreds of academic articles, dozens of books. All they had to do was introduce themselves. The first woman takes a microphone and she goes, ‘I don’t know […]

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Freedom of Speech

It’s not politics or religion separating humans from each other; it’s shame

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IDEAS.TED.com Feb 26, 2019 / Douglas Rushkoff   Excerpted from the new book Team Human by Douglas Rushkoff. Copyright © 2019 by Douglas Rushkoff. Reprinted by permission of W.W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved. Watch his TED Salon: Samsung talk here: https://embed.ted.com/talks/douglas_rushkoff_how_to_be_team_human_in_the_digital_future ABOUT THE AUTHOR Douglas Rushkoff is the host of the popular Team Human podcast. He has written 20 books, including the bestsellers “Present Shock” and “Program or Be Programmed,” as well as regular columns for Medium, CNN, Daily Beast and the Guardian. Rushkoff also made the PBS Frontline documentaries “Generation Like” and “Merchants of Cool.” He coined such concepts as “viral media” and “social currency,” and he’s been a leading voice for applying digital media toward social and economic justice. He is a research fellow of the Institute for the Future and founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, where he is a professor of media theory and digital economics.

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Media

Love the news but hate clickbait and fluff? Here’s how to get more quality and less quantity

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Ideas.Ted.com Feb 5, 2019 / Cal Newport Digital minimalist Cal Newport shows how you can turn off the information firehose and follow current events on your own terms. Are you ready to join the attention resistance? In 2010, a trio of Germans with backgrounds in sociology, technology and market research posted a document titled “Das Slow Media Manifest” (the English translation is “The Slow Media Manifesto”). Following the Slow Foodmovement — which promotes local food and cuisine as an alternative to fast food — the Slow Media Manifesto notes that the first decade of the 21st century “brought profound changes to the technological foundations of the media landscape.” The second decade, it proposes, should be dedicated to figuring out the “appropriate reaction.” Their suggestion: We can embrace the concept of “slow.” In an age in which the digital attention economy is shoveling more and more clickbait toward us and fragmenting our focus into emotionally charged shards, the right response is to become more mindful in our media consumption. The Slow Media movement is still mostly European; in the US, the response has proved more puritanical. Whereas the Europeans suggest transforming media consumption into a high‑quality experience, Americans have tended to embrace the “low information diet”: a concept popularized by author Tim Ferriss, in which you aggressively eliminate sources of news and information to reclaim time for other pursuits. Much like the American approach to healthy eating, it focuses on eliminating […]

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Ted Talks

How to make your small wins work for you

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IDEAS.TED.Com Jan 29, 2019 / Rob Smith The internet has inflated people’s expectations about what success looks like — any achievement that doesn’t go viral can seem skimpy. By changing our perspective and appreciating human-size, human-scale achievements, we can move towards our goals, says educator Mehrnaz Bassiri. Every weekday for the month of January, TED Ideas is publishing a new post in a series called “How to Be a Better Human,” containing a helpful piece of advice from a speaker in the TED community. To see all the posts, click here. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” We’ve heard this chestnut — or seen it in Instagram posts with handwritten fonts — over and over again. But is there truth in this stale nut? And if so, how can we translate it into real life? Well, it may be time to give this aphorism a refresh and change it to: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single win.” That’s because success can be found when we start to mark and celebrate our small wins, according to Vancouver-based educator Mehrnaz Bassiri. Drawing on the work of organizational theorist and psychologist Karl Weick, Bassiri says, “Small wins have a transformational power. Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion to favor another small win and another small win until the combination of these small wins lead to larger and greater […]

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Health and Wellbeing

What old story about yourself are you still believing? Here’s how to find it and change it

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Ideas.Ted.com Jan 24, 2019 / Mary Halton Many of us hold deeply ingrained beliefs about ourselves that are simply not true. You can start to free yourself from them by editing your narrative, says psychiatrist John Sharp. Every weekday for the month of January, TED Ideas is publishing a new post in a series called “How to Be a Better […]

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Media

Want to save your mental energy for the stuff that really matters? Set a decision budget

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Ideas.Ted.com Jan 9, 2019 / Dave Asprey Watch his TEDxConstitutionDrive talk here: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dave Asprey is a Silicon Valley investor and technology entrepreneur. He has spent over two decades and $1 million to hack his own biology and be a better husband, father and entrepreneur. Asprey is the creator of Bulletproof Coffee, founder of the Bulletproof Executive blog, host of the […]

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Caregiver

3 ways that your memory stays sharp even as you get older

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Ideas.TED.com Oct 4, 2018 / Alan D. Castel While overall memory declines as we age, that’s far from the end of the story. In fact, there are certain things older people continue to remember quite well, says researcher Alan D. Castel. Our memories are our identities, and at my lab at UCLA, I’ve worked to understand how we remember what matters to us, especially as we age. Memory decline is one of the first things that concern people about growing older — it can start after the age of 20, so being more forgetful when you are 60 or 70 is often normal. And while a vast amount of research has shown the deficits that accompany aging, it’s far too simplistic to say that the elderly have impaired memories. In fact, there are many things older adults remember quite well. Here’s a look at a few of them: 1. Older people tend to remember the essentials. A great deal of memory research focuses on what might be considered by some of us to be mundane — word lists, face-name pairs, studying and being tested on pictures — and it’s unclear why this might be important to remember. But how about things that are of real concern or interest? Imagine you’re packing for a trip. You want to make sure you’ve put in the most important items, the ones that would be extremely costly and/or inconvenient if you forgot them (e.g., your passport, your credit cards). While […]

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Caregiver

Once unwanted, these dogs are now on the front lines of wildlife conservation

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Ideas TED Talks Nov 6, 2018 / Rebekah Barnett These incredible pups catch poachers, sniff out invasive plants and diseases, and more, thanks to the work of wildlife biologist and conservation-dog expert Megan Parker. What happens to those dogs that are just too much dog for people to handle? “You know them — you go to your friend’s barbecue, their dog is so happy to see you that she pees on your feet, and she drops a slobbery ball in your lap,” says Megan Parker (TEDxJacksonHole talk: Dogs for Conservation), a wildlife biologist and dog expert based in Bozeman, Montana. “You throw it to get as much distance between you and the dog as possible, but she keeps coming back with the ball. By the 950th throw, you’re thinking, Why don’t they get rid of this dog?” All too often, their owners reach the same conclusion and leave their pet at a shelter. Thanks to Parker and the team at Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C), some of these dogs have found a new leash lease on life. They’re using their olfactory abilities and unstoppable drive in a wide variety of earth-friendly ways, working with human handlers to sniff out illegal poachers and smugglers, track endangered species, and spot destructive invasive plants and animals. Chai is shown here with a trainer. After a dog learns to recognize a particular scent, the education isn’t over — their handler works with them regularly so they maintain their skills. These days, you can find this […]

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Caregiver

How to raise successful kids without overparenting — ideas.ted.com

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Moms and dads often feel like they can’t win. If they pay too much attention to their kids, they’re helicopter parents; too little, and they’re absentee parents. What’s the happy medium that will result in truly happy, self-sufficient kids? Here are five tips. 1. Give your kids things they can own and control. “Enlist the… via How to raise successful kids without overparenting — ideas.ted.com

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Media

Which of these habits are keeping you from being a great communicator? — ideas.ted.com

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Yes, we all do these things, but they can suck the life from your conversations, says sound consultant Julian Treasure. Read this and strengthen your gift of gab. Over the years, I’ve identified a set of common emotional drivers that suck the power out of communication. I call them the four leeches. Most people —… via Which of these habits are keeping you from being a great communicator? — ideas.ted.com

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Caregiver

How should we talk about mental health?

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IDEAS.TED.COM DEC 18, 2013 / Thu-Huong Ha Mental health suffers from a major image problem. One in every four people experiences mental health issues — yet more than 40 percent of countries worldwide have no mental health policy. Across the board it seems like we have no idea how to talk about it respectfully and responsibly. Stigma and discrimination are […]

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Advocacy

Sincerely X, by TED Talks *EX-CON*

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Episode 3: Ex-Con Released   Aug 03, 2017 A remorseful insider brings us a hard-earned truth: prison is effective. While his years behind bars helped him see where his life went off the rails, it also helped him create a system for how former inmates can get back on track. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sincerely-x/id1238801741?mt=2

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Abuse

Sincerely, X Audio Podcast Episode 8

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SINCERELY, X AUDIO PODCAST This week on Sincerely, X, a podcast from TED and Audible where speakers share ideas anonymously. Episode 8 features a woman whose bravery after a devastating assault allowed her to reclaim her own personal power. Available now on Apple Podcasts, the TED Android app, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Men & Womens Health

Sincerely, X: Pepper Spray *Talks About Triggers*

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Sincerely, X By TED SINCERELY, X: PEPPER SPRAY Listen to TED and Audible’s new podcast, Sincerely, X. This episode, titled “Pepper Spray,” follows a woman whose visit to the store triggers a panic attack, giving listeners an inside look into those suffering from PTSD and how to help. Available now on Apple Podcasts, the TED Android app, or wherever you get your podcasts. View More by This Publisher

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Children

The best possible thing you can do to help your child through your divorce

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Most kids will suffer for a short time after a marriage ends, but what exacerbates and extends their stress and anxiety is when they feel torn between two parents, says communication researcher Tamara Afifi. Fifteen years ago, I was doing field research for one of my first studies on divorce (TEDxUCSB Talk: The impact of divorce on children) and I experienced a moment that had a huge impact on me. I was going into families’ homes and spending four to seven hours interviewing them. In one house, I sat down with a 12-year-old boy and asked him about his parents’ divorce. He was having difficulty concentrating at school, he told me, and his stomach often hurt. When he said his parents fought a lot, I asked him if he talked to them about it. “No,” he answered. “Because if I bring it up, it makes the fighting worse.” Parents don’t always know what their kids are thinking because, like this boy, they keep their feelings to themselves. As a result, they go around believing everything’s OK with their child when it’s not. Kids may suppress their emotions for a number of reasons — they don’t want to make their parents upset, they don’t know how to express themselves, or they’re simply too absorbed with their grief. After I talked to that boy, I thought, “I have to do something different to show parents how their fighting is affecting their kids’ bodies.” […]

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Advocacy

TED Talks: 10 Video Playlist on Autism Spectrum

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I love Ted Talks, any subject, any time, presentations less than 20 minutes long. If you have an interest in the Autism Spectrum one or many presentations may answer your questions. You can search their mass library at http://www.ted.com. Sign up it’s free. http://www.ted.com/playlists/153/the_autism_spectrum?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2016-04-02&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=playlist_button Xx  M

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Advocacy

ما ديني تقول حقا حول المرأة * آخر باللغة العربية *

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Hello friend, I use Google Translator, please excuse if translation not correct. I’m an American, do not speak Arabic and wanted to reach out by doing my first post in Arabic. I would love to hear your comments. May Allah bring you and your family blessings. Melinda آلاء مرابط مكانةُ المرأة الحقيقية في ديني في طريقي إلى هنا، أجريت محادثة شيقة مع الراكب الذي بجانبي خلال رحلتي قال لي :”يبدو أن الولايات المتحدة تُعاني من البطالة لأنهم يختلقون بعض الوظائف فقط: كعالم نفس القطط و مدرب للكلاب و متعقب الأعاصير” بعد بضعة ثوان سألني: إذن ما عملك ؟ وقلت له :”داعية للسلام ” (ضحك) كل يوم أعمل لدعم صوت النساء، ولتسليط الضوء على تجاربهن ومشاركاتهن في عمليات السلام و حل النزاعات. وبسب عملي أدركت أن الطريقة الوحيدة لضمان المشاركة الكلية للنساء عالميًا هي عن طريق استعادة الدين. والآن، هذا الموضوع في غاية الأهمية لدي كامرأة مسلمة شابة ، أنا فخورة جدًا بديني. فهو يعطيني القوة والقناعة لإتمام عملي كل يوم. وهو السبب في وقوفي أمامكم. لكن لا يمكنني ان أتغاضى عن الضرر الذي حصل باسم الدين، ليس ديني فقط، ولكن كل الديانات في العالم. التحريف وسوء الاستخدام والتلاعب بالنصوص المقدسة كل هذا أثر على معاييرنا الاجتماعية والثقافية، و قوانينا وحياتنا اليومية، إلى حد لا ندركه في بعض الأحيان. انتقل والديّ من ليبيا في شمال افريقيا لكندا في أوائل سنة 1980. وأنا الطفلة الوسطى من بين 11 طفلًا. نعم،11. و خلال نشأتي رأيت والديّا متدينين و روحانين؛ يصلون لله و يحمدونه […]

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Advocacy

Ted Talk-What My Religion Really Says About Women

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I became interested in other cultures after meeting two Jordanians in High School. Both were so generous, answering every question asked of them. I heard about the Muslim religion for the first time. My dream of traveling the world meant learning other cultures. I thank both for sharing the beauty of Jordan and opening up to me as a friend.  I have no agenda to offend anyone or call out any religion as good or bad. I continue learn other cultures and religions, it’s my life goal.  XO Melinda

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Military

TED Talk: Meet The First Women To Fight On Front Lines of an American War

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I hope you’re eyes opened as much as mine. This is a tremendous change in policy. A policy now able to see the value of women on front lines. Some mixed feelings are swirling in my head. Time will tell if women are treated as equals. There other thoughts I’m not ready to express now, I need more time for all to sink in. I pray for justice for all and punishment on either sex if disrespectful.

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