David Brooks: The lies our culture tells us about what matters -- and a better way to live
David Brooks: As mentiras que nossa cultura nos conta sobre o que realmente importa, e como podemos viver melhor
Writer and thinker David Brooks has covered business, crime and politics over a long career in journalism. Full bio
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me sentia humilhado por seu fracasso.
by that failed commitment.
or were leaving.
pra fazer faculdade.
in the conservative movement,
no movimento conservador,
então perdi muitos daqueles amigos também.
I lived alone in an apartment,
where there should have been utensils,
onde devia haver utensílios,
where there should have been plates,
pratos, eu guardava envelopes.
but I didn't have weekend friends.
mas não amigos de fim de semana.
were these long, howling silences.
eram um longo silêncio gritante.
came to me in the form of --
inesperadamente na forma de...
a burning in my stomach.
just fluidity, lack of solidity.
fluidez, falta de solidez.
was the awareness
era a consciência
was just reflective of the emptiness
do vazio dentro de mim,
that our culture tells us.
por algumas das mentiras da nossa cultura.
career success is fulfilling.
uma carreira de sucesso nos satisfaz.
a evitar a vergonha que eu teria
the shame I would feel
que eu posso me fazer feliz,
on their deathbed will tell you,
em seu leito de morte,
is the deep relationships of life,
profundos que temos na vida,
of the meritocracy.
is you are what you accomplish.
o que conquistamos.
is you can earn dignity
a marcas de prestígio.
to prestigious brands.
is conditional love,
é o amor condicional,
is you're not a soul to be purified,
não somos uma alma a ser purificada,
a serem maximizadas.
um pouco mais do que os outros
a little more than others
a little more than others.
failing to show up for my friends,
não visitar meus amigos,
that as I was falling into the valley --
enquanto eu caía no abismo,
e muitas outras pessoas faziam o mesmo.
were doing that, too.
the secret to my career;
também acontecem a outras pessoas.
to a lot of other people.
um pouco mais comunicativa que a média.
with above average communication skills.
a lot of other people were detached
pessoas estavam distantes
from each other.
over 45 are chronically lonely.
35% sofrem de solidão crônica.
report having meaningful conversation
alegam ter diálogos significativos
say they trust their neighbors,
dizem confiar em seus vizinhos,
é o de não afiliados,
political party is unaffiliated.
movement is unaffiliated.
é a de não seguidores.
de saúde mental só aumentam.
mental health problems are rising.
30 percent since 1999.
aumentaram 30% desde 1999.
over the last several years,
entre adolescentes cresceu 70%.
kill themselves every year;
75 mil morrem por vício em opioides.
está em queda, não em alta.
I flew out here to say
we have environmental crisis,
econômica, ambiental e política.
social e relacional.
and relational crisis;
coming out of Washington ...
vindas de Washington...
"Como sair de um abismo?"
"You suffer your way to wisdom."
"O caminho da sabedoria é árduo".
I've had a few realizations.
aprendi algumas coisas.
political freedom is great,
a liberdade política é ótima,
because he's uncommitted to things.
porque ele não se compromete com nada.
you want to swim in,
no qual queremos nadar,
on the other side.
e fincar raízes do outro lado.
one of those bad moments in life,
por momentos difíceis na vida,
ou eclodimos, nos abrimos.
or grief, they get smaller,
ou tristeza e se encolheram,
they lash out.
ressentidas, agressivas.
gets transmitted."
acaba sendo transmitida".
is that it's an interruption of life.
está em ser uma interrupção da vida.
you thought you were.
a pessoa que pensávamos ser.
what you thought was the floor
ser o porão da nossa alma,
e mais outra e mais outra.
revealing a cavity below,
revealing a cavity below.
you never anticipated,
imprevistas em nós mesmos,
will fill those depths.
preencherá essas camadas.
you get out of the head of the ego
is longing and love for another,
é querer e amar o outro,
described in his book,
descreveu em seu livro,
sobre seu relacionamento
when being in love is burned away.
quando a paixão se consumiu.
and a fortunate accident.
quanto um acaso fortuito.
um do outro no subsolo,
towards each other underground,
tinham caído dos nossos galhos,
had fallen from our branches,
one tree and not two."
uma só árvore, e não duas".
you discover is your soul.
que descobrimos é nossa alma.
or not believe in God,
that there's a piece of you
que não tem forma, tamanho, cor nem peso,
dignidade e valor infinitos.
infinite dignity and value.
don't have more of this
não têm mais disso do que as demais.
it's an obliteration of another soul.
porque é a supressão de outra alma.
contra algumas moléculas do corpo,
on a bunch of physical molecules,
another person's soul.
a alma de outra pessoa,
is it yearns for righteousness.
the soul yearns for righteousness.
o outro, e a alma anseia por integridade.
which I borrowed from Einstein:
que pego emprestada de Einstein:
is not going to be solved
on which you created it.
no qual você o criou.
to a different level of consciousness."
a um nível diferente de consciência".
is you throw yourself on your friends
que jamais tiveram.
that you ever had before.
é encarar sozinho a solidão.
into the wilderness.
ninguém para quem se exibir,
where there's nobody there to perform,
com o ego, e ele desmorone,
and it crumbles,
of being loved.
that when her daughter was born,
que, quando a filha nasceu,
more than evolution required.
mais do que a evolução demandava.
that's at the deep of ourself,
que está no fundo de nós,
uns com os outros.
you're ready to be rescued.
estamos prontos para ser resgatados.
when you're in the valley
alguém tem de nos tirar de lá.
by a couple named Kathy and David,
de um casal, a Kathy e o David,
numa escola pública em Washington, DC.
public school, his name's Santi.
e ele precisava de um lugar pra ficar.
who needed a place to stay
que tinha um amigo, que tinha um amigo...
and that kid had a friend.
25 around the kitchen table,
downstairs in the basement.
shake hands here.
on the face of the earth,
mais "abraçável" da face da Terra,
every Thursday night when I'm in town,
à noite quando estou na cidade,
que nos entreguemos totalmente.
where you're showing all the way up.
for all the ills of our culture
da nossa cultura:
really putting relationship first,
não só no discurso, mas de verdade.
these communities are everywhere.
estão por toda parte.
called "Weave: The Social Fabric."
o "Weave: The Social Fabric".
weavers anywhere, everywhere.
tecelões em todo e qualquer lugar.
who grew up in --
em Englewood, um bairro violento.
in a tough neighborhood.
because it was so dangerous,
porque era perigoso demais,
and she saw two little girls
e viu duas menininhas
com garrafas quebradas,
with broken bottles,
and she said, "We're not leaving.
"Não vamos nos mudar.
that abandon that."
a abandonar aquilo".
"voluntaridado em Englewood",
and now she runs R.A.G.E.,
grande organização comunitária lá.
have had tough valleys.
viveram abismos profundos.
who came home from an antiquing trip
had killed himself and their two kids.
e matado seus dois filhos.
she volunteers in the community,
é voluntária na comunidade,
with violence, she teaches.
com violência, ela ensina.
experience because I was angry.
porque estava com raiva.
what he tried to do to me
do que ele tentou fazer comigo
screw you, you're not going to do it.'"
dane-se, você não vai conseguir'".
an individualistic life,
uma vida individualista,
e têm valores diferentes.
they have a different set of values.
certeza vocacional, eles criam raízes.
they have planted themselves down.
que segurava um cartaz na praça:
in the town square,
called Roots of Empathy.
a bunch of kids, an eighth grade class,
de alunos da oitava série,
what the infant is thinking,
o que o bebê está pensando,
who was bigger than the rest
maior do que os demais,
been through the foster care system,
vivido em lares adotivos,
porque ele era grandão e intimidador.
because he looked big and scary.
Darren, hold the baby.
o Darren, segurar o bebê.
que tinha jeito pra segurá-lo.
asking questions about parenthood.
perguntas sobre paternidade.
do you think you can be a good father?"
poderia se tornar um bom pai?"
e as tira do fundo do abismo.
people out of the valley.
they have an intensity to them.
elas fazem tudo intensamente.
called "Naturalist," about his childhood.
sobre sua infância, o "Naturalista".
his parents were divorcing.
os pais estavam se divorciando.
to Paradise Beach in North Florida.
no norte da Flórida.
era impressionante,
It existed beyond my imagination."
da minha imaginação".
float beneath his feet.
abaixo de seus pés.
in the awe and wonder.
cheio de admiração e maravilhamento.
os animais com o dobro do tamanho
as you do as an adult.
is that moral intensity,
é aquela intensidade moral,
over to something
at twice the size as normal people.
do que as pessoas normais veem.
when we're shooting for our career,
quando estamos subindo na carreira,
it's the expansion of self.
é a expansão do ser.
your team wins the Super Bowl,
nosso time vence um campeonato,
it's the dissolving of self.
mas a dissolução do ser.
disappears between a mother and her child,
desaparece entre a mãe e o filho.
feels just free in nature.
se sente livre na natureza.
in your work or a cause,
entregues a um trabalho ou uma causa
totalmente de nós mesmos.
to aim for than happiness.
a alegria do que a felicidade.
of people when they lose it.
de quando as pessoas a perdem.
wondering where her handbag was.
tentando achar sua bolsa.
"Um homem magérrimo de olhos enormes
reached across a sea of bodies
de corpos pra pegar minha mão.
over and over, 'Are you feeling it?'
"Você está sentindo?"
I was terrified that I might die,
estava apavorada com medo de morrer,
overwhelmed with delight
com a música 'Can I Kick It?' tocando
should happen to be playing
do mundo na caixa de som,
in the history of the world
into 'Teen Spirit.'
the top of my head blew away,
simplesmente enlouqueci,
we gave ourselves up to joy."
nos entregamos à alegria".
is two different life mindsets.
são duas mentalidades de vida diferentes.
individual happiness and career success.
e ao sucesso profissional.
I have nothing against it.
the other mindset to balance it.
para equilibrar isso.
about ourselves as a people,
faith in our future,
we don't treat each other as well.
não tratamos os outros tão bem.
and environmental change.
econômica e ambiental.
and relational revolution.
de uma revolução cultural e relacional.
of a recovered society.
de uma sociedade recuperada.
have found that language.
encontraram essa linguagem.
is that society changes
é de que a sociedade muda
uma forma melhor de viver,
find a better way to live,
a better way to live.
uma forma melhor de viver.
all around the country.
comunitários em todo o país.
we're a weaver."
"Sou um tecelão, somos tecelões".
the social unity gets repaired.
a unidade social se regenera.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Brooks - Op-ed columnistWriter and thinker David Brooks has covered business, crime and politics over a long career in journalism.
Why you should listen
David Brooks became an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times in September 2003. He is currently a commentator on "The PBS Newshour," NPR’s "All Things Considered" and NBC's "Meet the Press."
He is the author of Bobos in Paradise and The Social Animal. In April 2015, he released with his fourth book, The Road to Character, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Brooks also teaches at Yale University, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Born on August 11, 1961 in Toronto, Canada, Brooks graduated a bachelor of history from the University of Chicago in 1983. He became a police reporter for the City News Bureau, a wire service owned jointly by the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times.
He worked at The Washington Times and then The Wall Street Journal for nine years. His last post at the Journal was as Op-ed Editor. Prior to that, he was posted in Brussels, covering Russia, the Middle East, South Africa and European affairs. His first post at the Journal was as editor of the book review section, and he filled in as the Journal's movie critic.
He also served as a senior editor at The Weekly Standard for 9 years, as well as contributing editor for The Atlantic and Newsweek.
David Brooks | Speaker | TED.com