Why politics must be included in the business discourse.

Recently as things have begun to heat up with the elections coming up, I’ve seen some memes and general posts on Linked In about how it isn’t Facebook, and it isn’t a place for politics.

Our whole lives, we’ve been told: “don’t mix business and politics.”

And beyond that, it has been ingrained in us to not talk about politics with friends and family so that we don’t strain those bonds. But, I have to ask - how weak are those bonds that we can’t talk openly about politics? And who does the silencing of discussion serve?

In calmer times, we could be casual about our politics. Maybe in a sane world, we could trust others to vote and know that the general outcome would be OK. But now is not that time, and politics and business are deeply intertwined.

Take, for instance, the 100,000 small businesses that have closed since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, and the 7.5 million other small businesses that are at risk. You can pretend that this is just ‘bad luck,’ but the reality is that a government with strong support for small businesses and not just big corporations could have shaped a different reality.

Or, on the other hand, take the companies who have used their substantial financial capital to buy government positions and legislation in a corrupt regime, who have dismantled environmental protection, how have made a mockery of our federal institutions by putting entirely unqualified corporate shills into positions of power because of their relationship with our corrupt government.

In the corporate political environment of today, it is impossible to say that you need to keep business and politics separate. Never have business and politics been more tightly tied, and never have the stakes of that relationship been higher.

We have an election coming up, and all signs point to a reality that is nearly impossible to grasp. The possibility that the current president of our democracy may want to dismantle said democracy and install himself as an authoritarian demagogue. If we let that happen, and you think that won’t impact every business in the United States and most companies globally, you are operating with your eyes closed.

Some of you may think that I am crazy - you may be completely unaware that this is a possibility. Others of you know that what I’m saying is true, but the truth is so intensely difficult to bear that you are sticking to the ‘that could never happen in America’ line. And others of you are so convinced of the certainty of the United States’ move to authoritarianism that you don’t even feel like it is worth fighting.

I’ve even heard that there is a group of people who know that Trump could potentially end democracy in the United States, but are still going to vote for him because they believe that it will protect their retirement plans, which shows you just how easy it is to purchase pro-totalitarianism.

But the funny thing is that inside (almost) all of us, regardless of political affiliation, religious beliefs, race, or any other ‘separating’ factors, we Americans are at the core patriots. We believe in the dream we were given in childhood. The dream of a melting pot, a country where people from the world could come, be welcome, and forge their futures. A country where all people are created equal and viewed as equal in the eyes of the law. A country where you can speak your mind safely because the highest office in the land protects your right to your beliefs and your right to express them.

Many of us are losing faith in that dream because it doesn’t resonate with the current reality. Protesters and journalists are treated like terrorists, and the President himself is openly supporting the suppression of free speech and the rise of a racist culture. He is closing the borders, borders whose ease of crossing is what the Statue of Liberty herself was originally designed to honor. It feels like we’ve been duped. This feeling that our dream has been stolen has led to countless conspiracy theories as we all try to find someone to blame. We want to put a name on the thief who took this dream from us.

But the bad news is, the thief is you, and the thief is me. If you are reading this and it resonates deeply with you, you have likely thrown the dream away. We must take responsibility for our actions. People have been saying it for years.

“Here’s a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” -Jesus (Matthew 7:12)

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change” - Mahatma Gandhi

“Be the change you want to see in the world” - Anonymous Fake Meme Generator (whose voice, I might add, plays an important part in this conversation. You need to pay close attention to when this guy talks)

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change” - Michael Jackson

The thing is, it is we (specifically you and I), the people of the United States of America, that form this great nation. It is you and I offering our voice up that makes democracy stand. If you don’t believe that your voice matters, that you will never win against an armed authoritarian regime, it is you who are causing the downfall of democracy.

Because all our world is, all our democracy is, is a pooled collection of our beliefs. If the many believe that America can be a great country - a truly great country - one that takes care of its people with outstanding healthcare and social services, one that leads the world towards a real and practicable environmental sustainability, one that only contributes in positive ways outside of its borders, one that provides safe harbor to those less fortunate, to those that have come here to escape from oppression.

It is we, the people, that make this country great. It is each of us. I’m looking at you, police and soldiers deployed on US soil. If you perpetrate crimes against your fellow countrymen because the chain of command ordered it, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you are willing to go against our rights and suppress free speech because you have been told to, you have lost your way. You have lost your soul. And you are murdering the soul of our country.

As authoritarianism rises, more and more people will be faced with the tough decision of making the right and ethical decision or of losing things they value. Possibly your job. Possibly your house. Possibly your freedom. Possibly your life. The military and police will be faced with these decisions first, and we need to support those in service of our country in making the right choices. 

The cleansing of anti-authoritarian/democratic opinion starts from the top down - first, it must be done among the politicians, in order that the government be wholly corrupt. Then among the enforcers - the armed forces and police. And from there, that arm of enforcement begins to purge the population of free-thinkers. Each of us, though, each politician, each officer of the law, each neighbor who may be asked to inform on their neighbors, we have a choice as individuals. 

In these situations, many of us will decide that it is more important to keep the things that we cherish, especially our lives or the lives of our loved ones than it is to speak the truth. It is in this way that armed authoritarianism can rise even in countries where the majority of the population is in opposition.

But this started with the separation of business and politics, so let me speak to you, the business owner, entrepreneur, influencer, employee. If your company has an audience, if you have sway, if you have a voice, now is the time to make it clear what you stand for. The only thing that benefits from keeping politics out of business and family conversations is the ability to avoid difficult conversations. But it is those difficult conversations that are necessary. It is a willingness to engage in difficult conversations that can open eyes and change hearts and minds.

It is not by having two polar extremes vote against each other that real democracy happens. It is by having conversations, and together deciding on the best path. Yes, in the end, if there are multiple good ideas, we vote and let the majority win. But before we get there, we discuss. 

So you can stand by and watch the American dream end, and not risk losing part of your customer base for speaking your authentic truth (yes, just another thing we are afraid of losing, the fear of which paralyzes us and prevents us from doing what we know is right). You can be complicit in the rise of an authoritarian USA. Or you can make your voice heard.

Because whether you agree with me or not, if you have read this, you have heard my voice. And we can have a conversation. And we can find a middle ground.

If you ask anyone, “Do you want to live under an authoritarian regime?” they will say no. But many people have no idea, have no scope of being able to picture what it means. I am confident that those who understand will vote for democracy. And we can increase that understanding through conversation, education, and authentic community.

As business owners, we have a bigger platform to stand on than your average employee. We have audiences. We have customer bases. And now is the time to reach out to them and become part of the change you want to see.

What can you specifically do?

1. Speak openly, and invite conversation. Try not to shoot down the opposition and go immediately to ‘something is wrong on the internet’ mode. Try to understand, and find a place where you can share your understanding.
2. Implement anti-authoritarian and anti-racist hiring policies. Yes, while it is illegal to discriminate based on race, sex, or sexual orientation, it is legal to discriminate on politics (This is not legal advice, and laws vary state to state. Do your research). Make it clear that you will not hire or work with people or companies that are racist. Don’t use companies that openly support Trump or cause environmental destruction in your supply chain. Make it clear you will not hire or work with people who could cause our country to lose its status as a democracy (that would be Trump supporters)
3. Actively support protestors. Protesting is a fundamental democratic right. The way protesters (and now journalists) are handled as terrorists, and military targets is one of the first real signs of a move towards military authoritarianism. Support free speech even if it is temporarily having a problematic impact on your business.
4. Recognize publicly that you support Black Lives Matter. It may be strange to imagine, but even the conservative media has been able to twist Black Lives Matter in a way that supports an agenda for authoritarianism. By creating the ‘us and them’ in the conversation and normalizing the police brutality towards black people in the media, a step is being made towards normalizing police brutality towards all. The job of our police is to protect us, and they should face the highest standards. Whatever the highest penalty under the law may be, it should be applied to a police officer who commits murder long before it should ever be applied to a citizen who commits murder. If you don’t stand against systematic racial aggression now, who will stand against widespread systematic aggression when you are on the other side?
5. Close your business on voting day, and publicly encourage all of your employees and customers to vote. If you only do one thing, do this.

And don’t let people tell you that you are a terrible business owner because you are speaking your mind. The same companies who tell you that politics shouldn’t be on LinkedIn because politics and business don’t mix, have professional lobbyists in Washington - so really? Really, business and politics don’t mix?

I would disagree and say that a business with no politics is a business with no soul. There is an argument that a business should believe in nothing but profits, for that is the purpose of a business. I think that business can stand for much more than that and that we, the people who make up these businesses, are the same people that make up this country, and this great democratic experiment.

So please, let’s have a real dialogue. Because what happens with the government is going to affect all of our businesses. The tax laws. The environmental regulations or lack thereof. They will benefit some, and they will harm others, no matter which way things go. If we don’t converse, if we just fight, and never try to understand the full spectrum of beliefs and desires that make up this melting pot of a country, but choose to remain insular in whatever our little niche of the political spectrum may be, how can we claim that we are making informed decisions?

How can we claim to be a part of the conversation?

And if we want to remain part of the conversation, we need to make sure the conversation continues. And that is the difference - democracy is a conversation. Authoritarianism is a keynote speech where only authorized people are allowed to ask questions at the end.

So, I say, businesses, hang your political flags high. And let’s allow real discussion between ourselves and our clients, our customers, our employees, our fellow business owners. Without transparency and truth, there can be no real discussion.

If you believe in democracy, even if you think I am crazy and that Trump is the way forward for American democracy, don’t be afraid to speak your truth so that we can, as countrypeople, define a beautiful future together.

Passive politics only works when all of the potential outcomes of a voting event are acceptable - when nothing is really on the line. Now is not that time. The lives of children being detained at our borders are at stake. The lifeblood of our country, the very foundation of our democracy, is at stake. The future of our planet's climate and, therefore, potentially all human life is currently at stake.

Trump wants to implement patriotic education (in a kind of terrifying and dark way). But so do I. Let’s make it so that 50 years from now, we can teach in the schools that our great nation came together to defeat those who would end the free world as we know it, and banded together to use the same ingenuity that sent us to the moon and created modern industrialism to solve the problems that same system has caused. That we embrace societal evolution, and we acknowledge our mistakes as humanity, but that collectively we can move past things like racism and religious persecution and make them a permanent part of history.

But let’s not do it the way Trump wants to - by promoting lies and alternative versions of history that support his vision. Let’s do it by making history worth writing about. Right now. And the only way a society can do that is if the individual people who make up that society make it happen.

You probably have a busy day. You may have many things you want to get done. Are any of them more important than this? A couple of political organizations taking donations and working their fingers to the bone to save the elections is not enough. We all need to pitch in. So, I invite you to join me. Share this article. Write your own. Speak to your employees and customers. Use your platform to make a difference.

Or stay silent, and risk becoming part of a very different history.