“Go for 20 minutes to a special olympics event and write down what it feels to be in that space.”
On this episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” I speak with Tim Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. Tim expanded the organization from one million athletes to over six million athletes in more than 170 countries around the world.
After passing on the CEO torch, he wondered how the spirit of the athletes of Special Olympics might provide a model for our divided world. He started a conversation with hundreds of young people, faith leaders, educators, philosophers, scientists, activists and political figures on how we might reclaim our common humanity.
He formed the nonprofit UNITE which uses what he calls the “Dignity Index,” a new tool to help Americans disagree without demonizing each other.
Tim went to Yale, got his Master’s degree from Catholic University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Connecticut. Before joining the Special Olympics in 1996, he co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the leading school reform organization in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL).
On the side, he is a Hollywood producer of several films including “Amistad.”
He is coauthor of “Fully Alive – Discovering What Matters Most,” and co-editor of “The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening.” In May, Notre Dame awarded him the Laetare Medal.
“My parents were innovation machines,” Tim tells me. “They were problem solvers.”
His mother started the Special Olympics by asking, “’What if we just spoke each others’ language and ate each others’ food?’” That was peace-building.
Last year the volunteer army of human goodness created 80,000 Special Olympics events.
“Go to an event! There’s a recognizable presence of human dignity and therefore divine energy. There’s a different vibrational field. The Special Olympics is a peacemaking movement.” www.specialolympics.org
When I ask Tim about Unite and the Dignity Index, he says it’s based on the insight that “our problems are not based on our differences but how we treat each other when we differ. When we treat each other with dignity, we have a good chance of solving our problems. We try to learn how to treat each other with dignity and reduce contempt.”
Listen in as Tim describes various ways to respond to others in keeping with human dignity. God bless you!
🌻, John
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