I have provided 2 different TED Talks from Professor Jonathon Haidt.  I have also provided numerous other websites and TED Talks.  I provided these additional resources to you as additional research sites for this class, but also for your future classes and/or profession.  I think the issues discussed in Chapter 5 and by Professor Haidt are critical at this time in our country.  Arguably, the popularity of Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and the vote by Great Britain to exit the European Union can be traced back to these issues of plurality and our growing inability to find "common ground" for some of our very important looming issues.  Our country is becoming more and more polarized.  You may agree or disagree with what Professor Haidt has to say, but something different about each of his conversations is that at the end of each one he offers some practical ideas that might provide some solutions to bring people back together, so we can at least start to find common ground again.  I think understanding Professor Haidt's main ideas from the first TED Talk leads to a better understanding of the second TED Talk.  Below are some questions for you to think about and answer from the two TED Talks.  Please complete the following questions: From the first TED Talk:  1.  What is one of the main differences as described by Jonathan Haidt of Liberals and Conservatives? 2.  What is the irony Professor Haidt points out with regard to the "makeup" of the TED Talk audience? 3.  List the 5 foundations of morality Professor Haidt believes we are born with. 4.  What are the three foundations of Morality that Professor Haidt believes are at odds between Conservatives and Liberals?   5.  According to Professor Haidt, what needs to be implemented or introduced into a larger group in order to get more sharing of common resources? 6.  According to Professor Haidt what lesson can be learned from looking at Eastern Religions?  In other words, how should we be viewing our differences? 7.  Professor Haidt states that we were designed to unite into teams, divide against other teams, and thus we become blinded to the truth.  What does he suggest we should do first in order to begin to cultivate "moral humility"? From the second TED Talk: Professor Haidt has come up with an analogy of "asteroids" to help us understand our social issues and how political polarization is halting our ability to solve any large policy challenges.   1.  What are the 2 liberal "asteroids"?   Briefly explain these. 2.  What are the 2 conservative "asteroids"?  Briefly explain these. 3.  During this conversation, Professor Haidt shows several different graphs to demonstrate his points.  What do all of these graphs basically have in common?   4.  Professor Haidt comes up with three suggestions for beginning to fix the problems of polarization within Congress.  List these and briefly explain them.   5.  What is an example given by Professor Haidt showing how two seemingly op ...

1. I have provided 2 different TED Talks from Professor Jonathon
Haidt. I have also provided numerous other websites and TED
Talks. I provided these additional resources to you as
additional research sites for this class, but also for your future
classes and/or profession.
I think the issues discussed in Chapter 5 and by Professor Haidt
are critical at this time in our country. Arguably, the popularity
of Donald Trump in the 2016 election, and the vote by Great
Britain to exit the European Union can be traced back to these
issues of plurality and our growing inability to find "common
ground" for some of our very important looming issues.
Our country is becoming more and more polarized. You may
agree or disagree with what Professor Haidt has to say, but
something different about each of his conversations is that at
the end of each one he offers some practical ideas that might
provide some solutions to bring people back together, so we can
at least start to find common ground again.
I think understanding Professor Haidt's main ideas from the first
TED Talk leads to a better understanding of the second TED
Talk.
Below are some questions for you to think about and answer
from the two TED Talks.
Please complete the following questions:
From the first TED Talk:
1. What is one of the main differences as described by Jonathan
Haidt of Liberals and Conservatives?
2. What is the irony Professor Haidt points out with regard to

2. the "makeup" of the TED Talk audience?
3. List the 5 foundations of morality Professor Haidt believes
we are born with.
4. What are the three foundations of Morality that Professor
Haidt believes are at odds between Conservatives and
Liberals?
5. According to Professor Haidt, what needs to be implemented
or introduced into a larger group in order to get more sharing of
common resources?
6. According to Professor Haidt what lesson can be learned
from looking at Eastern Religions? In other words, how should
we be viewing our differences?
7. Professor Haidt states that we were designed to unite into
teams, divide against other teams, and thus we become blinded
to the truth. What does he suggest we should do first in order
to begin to cultivate "moral humility"?
From the second TED Talk:
Professor Haidt has come up with an analogy of "asteroids" to
help us understand our social issues and how political
polarization is halting our ability to solve any large policy
challenges.
1. What are the 2 liberal "asteroids"? Briefly explain these.
2. What are the 2 conservative "asteroids"? Briefly explain
these.
3. During this conversation, Professor Haidt shows several
different graphs to demonstrate his points. What do all of these

3. graphs basically have in common?
4. Professor Haidt comes up with three suggestions for
beginning to fix the problems of polarization within Congress.
List these and briefly explain them.
5. What is an example given by Professor Haidt showing how
two seemingly opposite groups have come together?
Summing it all up:
I have asked you these questions above basically like a guided
reading exercise to hopefully assist you in parsing out the main
ideas of his presentations. Above, I just expected you to answer
the questions. For this last question, give me your thoughts.
Do you agree or disagree with any of his assumptions or
conclusions? Have you experienced any situations that support
his ideas? What do you think about his findings regarding the
difference between liberals and conservatives? What do you
think of his "asteroid" issues? Do you think there are other big
"asteroid" issues that he did not mention? Do you think we
might have some local "asteroid" issues we should be
addressing? Do you think any of his ideas could work? Do you
have any ideas of your own? How might this information make
you a better public administrator?
There is not a minimum word count here. My hope is that you
found these talks interesting and thought provoking.
As mentioned above, below these directions are some additional
TED Talks and websites (Other than the Professor Haidt Ted
Talks) that offer even more interesting ideas, activities,
thoughts and suggestions for this issue of finding common
ground. Each one offers a slightly different take on this very
important issue. Just take a little time and explore. I think the

4. additional TED Talks are very interesting in particular. Again,
these additional resources are just there for your general
review.
Instruction video URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z1Q5zwxsEY
TED TALK Jonathan Haidt (The Moral Roots of Liberals and
Conservatives - TED Talk 1) :
https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind
TED TAlK Jonathan Haidt (How Common Threats Can Make
Common (political) Ground - TED Talk 2)
:https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_how_common_threat
s_can_make_common_political_ground#t-327