Speaking up about Progress.
Sometimes it is hard to speak up. Especially when many people you know feel a certain way. Maybe there are people you respect and admire who think and represent a point of view. Maybe everyone around you seems to be screaming and nodding their heads about the same thing. Maybe the entire media complex seems to be repeating one another.
Having a different perspective is hard. Keeping your mind free from the bias and group think that abounds our daily lives sometimes feels impossible.
But listening to your own voice and inner dialogue is more critical now than ever.
In today’s loud and divisive political climate it is easy to get discouraged and to be quieted into passivity. Especially if you hold a view that seems unpopular.
I know I’ve felt this way over these last few months.
My views aren’t that radical. I’m very optimistic about our Country. I believe Progress will continue no matter who happens to be our leader at a given point in time. I believe we are better when we come together as a Country beyond party. I believe the climate of division and anger is counterproductive as are the tribal ways people battle between Red and Blue.
These simple beliefs have caused many people I know to question me over these last months. They’ve wondered if I’ve changed my other views, such as my deep passion for social justice and equality. And my deep belief in the need for more diversity across all areas, especially in business.
It is strange that being optimistic can be so off-putting to people.
In my case, I’ve been optimistic long before these recent months. In fact, my mantra about #progress is a bit of a broken record going back a couple years now. The notion underlies the firm I founded, Odin River, that is based on this deep optimism about the long run and that mission driven ways win in the future.
The Truth is, Progress is always messy. Sure, people are understandably upset about stuff that has been going on lately, but there are plenty of things that are imperfect about our world beyond politics that have been around for a long time. Our lives are complex and have ups and downs.
When we broaden the lens beyond an individual to a society, there are even more bumps. Crime. Violence. Poverty. Anger. Hate. There are many things to point at to frame a negative story about what we see.
But there are also many beautiful things around us everyday. A little puppy walking by. Our children laughing. Friends coming together to work on charitable projects. Families comforting one another when things go wrong. Neighbors who care. Great new products and services and inventions that make our lives almost seem like magic when we step back and think about it.
It seems so odd that in the wealthiest and privileged circles of the wealthiest Country in the history of the planet it is so unpopular to be optimistic.
Maybe in some way that is a reflection of that very privilege: people have it so good they can focus on the political sphere and ignore all the other gifts they have. Maybe the popular and dominant pessimistic language is another reason to be optimistic: we are blessed to live in a nation where such openly controversial political language can be hurtled with abandon without any real fear of retribution.
Maybe my discomfort of being optimistic is another reason for optimism: it is often the unpopular and contrarian ideas that end up being right in the long run.
So I’m trying to find the courage to speak up more about that true future state I believe in.
Our best days as a nation, as a planet, as a family of people here on this blue dot lie far far ahead of us.
We will solve climate change, feed the hungry, find peace and prosperity.
We will achieve that promise of liberty and justice for all underlying the Nation that enables us to have this rich discourse we experience everyday. We will be the land of opportunity and hope that we always have been. For people of all races and ethnicities.
And yes, we will achieve Progress. Together.
That is the true story I believe. No matter what we may read in the headlines.
