FUNNY OR DIE Exclusive & Faith 2020 Podcast
Plus your top 5 articles of the week. Whew.
Dear Friends,
We have so much good stuff for you this week. First, as always, your weekly reads are below.
Second, The Faith 2020 Podcast launches today!!!! All four historical episodes will be live this afternoon. In these episodes, I take listeners through an abbreviated history of the Democratic Party, faith and presidential campaigns in this century. In the first two episodes, I interview journalist Amy Sullivan about the 2004 and 2006 campaigns. In the third episode, I have a conversation with Joshua DuBois about faith outreach on Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. In the fourth episode, I share some insights on the 2012 re-election effort, and talk with The New York Times’ Amy Chozick about 2012 and 2016. Next week, our first episode focused on 2020 will air featuring an exclusive, powerful interview with Senator Chris Coons. It would be a huge help if you would listen and leave a review on iTunes. The podcast is on Spotify as well.
Let me know what you think. We’re at the early stages of this thing, so I’m eager for ideas about potential guests, topics to cover, etc.
Funny or Die Exclusive: What’s the Deal with Sikhs?
Third, we have something fun and funny to share. It’s also pretty important.
Gurwin Ahuja is an amazing man: he’s the Executive Director of the National Sikh Campaign, an Obama alum and a former colleague of mine. Here’s a picture of Gurwin and I at President Obama’s re-election campaign HQ.
We’re stoked to share this exclusive short Q&A below with Gurwin on one of his latest projects: a FUNNY OR DIE video about Sikhs and their religion.
You can watch the video below and learn more about why it was created in the Q&A. Many of us have attended one of these special “diversity days” and if you haven’t, then just imagine it’s a lot like this video.
Follow the National Sikh Campaign on Twitter, if you’re interested in learning more.
From Gurwin…
1. Tell us about this project.
Gurwin: The purpose of the Funny Or Die video is to help share the Sikh community's values and beliefs. Around the world and specifically in the United States our faith is relatively unknown -- even though we belong to the 5th largest religion in the world. Practically, this ignorance has meant that Sikh Americans – particularly young Sikhs -- have endured significant bullying, discrimination, and even assault.
We hope the Funny Or Die video provides a lighthearted and relatable way to reach young Americans online and inform them about the meaning of the turban and our belief and equality and tolerance of all people.
2. Why did you get involved in the effort?
Gurwin: Doing this project is important to me on several levels.
First, I believe it’s really important for We Are Sikhs as an organization to inform young people. American Sikhs often face the most overt forms of discrimination when they are young, and that discrimination is often rooted in unfamiliarity than maliciousness. We believe one of the best ways to address the unfamiliarity around Sikh Americans and Sikhism is through comedy.
Second, we live in an extremely divisive time and people are actually becoming hesitant to have honest conversations about diversity when we should actually be leaning into those conversations. The video is in a way commentary on we should try to relate to each other on a human level during diversity discussions and not just treat people as avatars for their respective religious, gender, or ethnic groups.
3. What do you want people to know about the Sikh community in America?
Gurwin: I want people to know that the core values of Sikhism are gender equality, racial equality, religious tolerance and a belief in one God. And that the Sikh turban represents our commitment to protect those values for all people.
Top 5 articles
“‘These People Aren’t Coming From Norway’: Refugees in a Minnesota City Face a Backlash”
Because we don’t usually get a look inside anti-immigrant groups.
“Better Schools Won’t Save America”
Because inequality - not a poor education - may explain the fractures and cleavages in American society.
“Why Housing Policy Feels Like Generational Warfare”
Because it takes double, triple or even four times as long for millennials to save for down payments, and it’s even worse for millennials of color.
“It’s the Institutions, Stupid”
Because America’s decline can be blamed on the decline of institutions and belief in institutions.
Because Human Resources is not catching up with #MeToo, along with other major changes in workforce habits.