Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Finding meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding

Finding meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding

A barn burning during a wildfire.

Getty Images//Photographer: David Odisho/Bloomberg

The devastation caused by the recent fires in Los Angeles has been heartbreaking. The loss of life and property, and the grief that so many are experiencing, remind us of the vulnerability of everything in life.

Nothing is permanent. There are no guarantees for tomorrow. We are all so fragile and that fragility so often leads to breaking. And it hurts.


If there's a bright spot, it's this: the devastation has unleashed enormous generosity and solidarity of people in Los Angeles and around the country toward those who are most wounded by the devastation.

First responders are risking their lives, friends are taking each other into their homes, volunteers are bringing food and clothing to those most affected, and people from around the country and around the world are giving. Pain experienced by so many is being met by love given in equal measure.

My brother told me he'd heard from dozens of friends from long ago who he'd thought had forgotten about him. As devastating as it is to watch the destruction, the silver lining is to watch human beings respond with so much compassion.

As hard as it is to make sense of all this, we're blessed by a voice of help coming to us at exactly the right moment. Just this week, our nation's Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, published his final prescription for healing our country, and it couldn't be more timely. "Choose community," Dr. Murthy writes, because "relationships, service and purpose create an ecosystem of meaning and belonging that are essential for fulfillment."

In short, the Surgeon General is telling us that if we want to be healthy and heal, we need to strengthen the work of building community, and we have to root that work in the transformative power of love and connection. It's as though Dr. Murthy wrote this letter for all of us right now.

Like many of you, I’ve been looking for ways to help, to offer support, and to find meaning in a tragedy that defies understanding.

For those of you wanting to help those impacted by the fires, my sister Maria and her team have compiled this list of vetted organizations that need support.

HOW TO HELP WITH THE LA WILDFIRES

For me, this tragedy hits close to home. Several of my own family members have been directly affected—my brother, my sister, my daughter, my nieces and nephews, and several cousins have all been forced from their homes, uncertain about what lies ahead. I know I’m not alone in this, as so many of you are also grappling with the enormity of what has happened.

In this spirit of community, I know you all join me in working on how we can foster hope and healing—not only for those on the front lines but for all of us as we navigate this crisis and all the stress of these times. We can all do our part: make the extra call; let others know you care; offer whatever gifts you have; and give whatever you can. Nothing is too small and everything counts.

Above all, commit to strengthening the bonds that bind us together as family, as people of faith, as country. If ever the message was clear, it's clear now: community isn't just a vague idea or a long-term goal: it's survival.

In the spirit of community and love,

Tim

Tim Shriver is the chairman of Special Olympics, founder and CEO of UNITE, and co-creator of the Dignity Index. Visit dignity.us to join Tim’s newsletter mailing.

Read More

Following Jefferson: Promoting Inter-Generational Understanding Through Constitution-Making

artistic animated portrait of Thomas Jefferson

Following Jefferson: Promoting Inter-Generational Understanding Through Constitution-Making

Part II: Preambles

The band of brothers that met in Philadelphia to draft a fresh Constitution shared one thing in common: They were children of the Enlightenment. It didn’t matter where they came from or what experiences shaped their lives, America’s Founding Fathers subscribed to the ideals of human reason, the rule of law, government by consent, and the all-important “pursuit of happiness.” The Enlightenment was their collective calling card.

That generational camaraderie found purchase in the immortal words of the preamble. “We the People of the United States,” the famous preface begins, “in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Making promises, or at least challenging ourselves to reach a higher political vista, is pure Enlightenment thinking.

Keep ReadingShow less
From Minnesota to Utah: A Deadly Pattern of Political Violence

American flag with big crack or bullet hole.

Getty Images/Stock Photo

From Minnesota to Utah: A Deadly Pattern of Political Violence

We share in the grief over the weekend’s political violence that claimed the life of Rep. Hortman and her husband Mark, and our thoughts remain with Sen. Hoffman and his wife Yvette as they fight for their lives. This tragedy strikes at the heart of our democracy, threatening not just individual lives but the fundamental belief that people from different backgrounds can come together to solve problems peacefully.

The Minnesota shootings were not the only acts of political violence on June 14th. In Salt Lake City, gunfire shattered a peaceful "No Kings" protest, killing one demonstrator. In Austin, authorities evacuated the state Capitol under credible threats to lawmakers during another rally. In Culpeper, Virginia, a driver was arrested after driving into a crowd of protesters with his vehicle.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stories Matter: How Political Messaging Transforms Protests from Rights to Riots
Demonstrators protest in front of LAPD officers after a series of immigration raids on June 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Stories Matter: How Political Messaging Transforms Protests from Rights to Riots

The images emerging from Los Angeles this week tell two very different stories. In one version, federal troops are maintaining law and order in response to dangerous disruptions in immigration enforcement. In another, peaceful protesters defending immigrant communities face an unprecedented deployment of military force against American citizens. Same events, same streets, entirely different narratives. And, as it often does, the one that dominates will determine everything from future policy to how history remembers this moment.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Throughout American history, the story we tell about protests has mattered more than the protests themselves. And time and again, it’s political messaging, rather than objective truth, that determines which narrative takes hold.

Keep ReadingShow less
Flags of the United States hanging in front of the facade of a building
Colors Hunter - Chasseur de Couleurs/Getty Images

What ‘America First’ Really Looks Like

"Your flag flyin' over the courthouse

Means certain things are set in stone

Keep ReadingShow less