This week marks the ninth week of protests across the country as demonstrators demand tangible changes to the racial divides that have plagued the U.S. since its inception. Along with calls for equality have been calls to defund police, who are often seen as enforcing laws unequally.
However, Pastor Miles McPherson said accepting people's differences needs to be the goal, rather than choosing sides, like pro- or anti-police.
The NFL player-turned-pastor's 2018 book The Third Option: Hope For a Racially Divided Nation has regained national attention as people look for ways to sort through ethnic, racial, and other cultural differences that are tearing at the seams of America's social stability.
"The third option, which is what the book is about: how do we honor and give value to what we have in common? We have more similarities than differences," McPherson told Cheddar.
McPherson, the pastor of Rock Church in San Diego, California, said that there are ways for people to avoid offensive "blind spots" they may have in order to improve relations among people with varying backgrounds.
"If we can come to the table and talk about the things that we agree on, start with those things versus focusing on the differences we have, we can make more headway," he explained.
Racial division in America is practically embedded in the genetic makeup of the country, but for McPherson, the path to understanding isn't in avoiding differences but embracing and respecting them.
"If you have people in your life that are of a different ethnicity than you, different culture, the best thing to do is to sit down and ask if there are things about you that are offensive that you don't know about," he said.
For McPherson, the father and son of police officers, improving relationships between communities and police departments is also important because he understands how mischaracterizations based on job association or racial makeup can cause even more division.
"I think it's very important for us to not categorize a group of people as all bad or all good," he said. "There are good cops and bad cops."
Perhaps the most critical point for social progression in America, according to McPherson, is allowing people to "make mistakes" as we're "all on a journey" to understanding and accepting our differences.
"If we can give each other that grace, we can get further down the road," he said.
If you're planning to host Thanksgiving dinner this year, be prepared to shell out more cash for your bird. Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief at The Balance, joined Cheddar to talk about the rising cost of food due to a number of factors like drought, inflation, and supply chain issues. She noted that families can expect to pay 21 percent more for their holiday meal compared to last year.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
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Roundhill Investments is investing in the metaverse, and it wants consumers to as well. The firm launched a metaverse exchange-trade fund called Meta back in June - the first ETF in the U.S. targeting investments in the next era of the internet. The fund's launch came months before the company formerly known as Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms. Since the launch of Roundhill Investments' Meta ETF, it has grown significantly, reaching $500 million in assets. Roundhill Investments Vice President Mario Stefanidis joined Cheddar News to discuss.
At the turn of the century, a group of female pop stars, actors, influencers began to dominate Hollywood in every conversation in the entertainment industry, whether it was Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, we watched their lives unfold in real-time, seemingly right in front of our eyes. But perhaps the most glaring example of the misogyny these women face came in 2004 when Justin Timberlake tugged at Janet Jackson's booster in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl 38 halftime show. Now 20 years later, that moment in history is being re-examined. Senior Reporter at Vox Constance Grady, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Cognitive healthcare platform BrainCheck recently raised $10 million in a Series B round. The platform offers neurologists a new way to detect and care for brain disorders like Alzeheimer's, and brain injuries like concussions. BrainCheck CEO Yael Katz joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
'General Hospital' actor and activist Cassandra James joins Cheddar News to talk about recent transphobic comments made by her co-star Ingo Rademacher. She also discusses trans rights and the importance of having fair and accurate stories of trans lives portrayed in the media.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Ice Barrel CEO breaks down the physical and mental health benefits to cold therapy training; Dishcraft CEO explains how its robotics is transforming the role of a dishwasher in restaurant kitchens; A look at Curiosity Stream's original series 'The Year That Rocked The World.'
Sting is the latest recording artist looking to unload his music catalog — for a staggering $250 million. Universal Music Group is said to be at the top of the list of suitors but the pop star's hits could still end up remaining with Sony.
Three-time Grammy Award winner Darius Rucker joins Cheddar News to discuss his new apparel line, NFL x Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics, a new line of officially licensed NFL apparel inspired by Rucker’s love of music, football, and fashion.
