Good Advice

I came across the Monica Lewinsky TED Talk yesterday as I was sitting at the light in my car, on the hunt for Tony Robbins. I was feeling low-energy and Tony always pumps me up. I had been wondering about Monica Lewinsky, just in passing. I wasn’t curious enough to do an online search, but she crossed my mind a handful of times and I wondered what was going on with her. So, I was thrilled, if not a little apprehensive about watching this video.

There’s value in a Monica Lewinsky TED Talk on shame

I think Ms. Lewinsky offers a jarring and insightful  perspective on this culture of cruelty we’ve created. Cruelty for the sake of cruelty. Vicarious cruelty in the form of memes and status updates so we share in the shaming, but feel somehow justified as observers. Of course, Ms. Lewinsky’s unique perspective stems from her past, which makes the video worth watching, even if only to remind us that we, and those around us, are human.

Beware: There’s heartbreak in her words when she talked about her mom’s response to Matthew Clementi’s death. It would do us all some good to reconnect with our ability to feel and express compassion and empathy.