Do You Remember?

Something seems be changing in our world. People are angry, and want change, and are apparently making their views known in ways that are very different from what I remember. To be honest with you I’m rattled by all of this anger and what it may lead to in the not so distant future.

I remember….

- teaching my children that people of every color, religion, sexual orientation and nation were equal

- deciding to speak out against bigotry in my personal and professional life

- losing friends and colleagues because I stood up against narrow minded racist attitudes

- learning about the risks the leaders of the American Colonies took to create a new country based on freedom

- admiring Abraham Lincoln for stopping the scourge of slavery once and for all

- the chills I felt hearing Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said “…I may not get there with you…"

- gaining a deep understanding for the incredible leadership Dietrich Bonhoeffer demonstrated in fighting against the Nazi message of hate against specific groups of people, ultimately becoming one of the millions they murdered

- watching my parents fight for civil rights throughout their careers…and make a real difference

- my transition from someone who talks privately about diversity and equality, to being a leader who pushed through the MLK holiday and same sex partner benefits at a hospital I worked for

I remember when real leaders were admired for doing the right thing, not scaring people.

I remember being proud of America. I hope I will still feel that way in November.

How About You

What is it that stirs your soul to action? Is it your career, family, politics, or maybe just your core values that shape how you decide to lead each day?

Whatever it is…make sure those around you will be proud to be in your world.

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses. 

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I Meant What They Said

Sometimes the words of others are exactly what we want to say. Here are some of my favorites...

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."
- Rosa Parks

"It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.
- Harvey Milk

"Conscience is the perfect interpreter of life."
- Karl Barth

"The time is always right to do what is right."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Playing the Race Card

I have a couple of hot buttons in my life. Here's the list:

- racism

- discrimination against those different than you (for any reason)

- violence against women and children

- racism

Racism gets two votes because not only is it one of the most cowardly and disgusting belief systems I've ever encountered; but it also goes against the very core of what being a decent human being is all about.

Are you with me so far?

 

Racism Is Not A Card Game

One of the phrases I hear over and over has to do with one's ability to "play" some sort of mysterious "race card."

What?

It seems to me that each time this phrase is used it is by someone who is trying to attack a minority for raising a legitimate issue; but God forbid it has something to do with racism. We certainly can't talk about that! Right?

"Would someone please explain to me why we aren't comfortable talking about racism for what it is; and instead feel the need to deflect our inability to confront the bigots among us and degrade the issue to a common game of cards?"

What?

What the hell is going on here? Avoidance, that's what. Fear of speaking the truth, that's what. The inability to step up and confront racism when its staring us in the face, that's what. Whose job is it to step up anyway? In your work life human resources leadership better be ready to drop the gloves instantly.

We all have options. Some of them are easy. The easiest one is called silence. Silence equals endorsement. Silence means you are actively supporting racism.

Silence means you are now the racist. How does that sound in your head?

Another Option

We have another option too. We can do something. We can stop the bigots in their tracks and expose them for the foolish, evil, radicals they are. All we have to do is speak up. You see once we raise our voice two things immediately happen:

- everyone will know exactly what you stand for

- everyone will know exactly what the racist stands for

Are you still with me?

How About You

Stop playing cards. Start confronting racism. If you're not sure what to do, call me and I'll help. It can be scary when you're the only one in the room doing the right thing. I know. But in the words of Dr. King: "the time is always right, to do what's right." 

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Dinner With A Dead Person

Jason Lauritsen asked a question in his recent post about which dead person we would like to have dinner with (excluding family members). I immediately knew who the person would be at the top of my list; but then took some time to dig a little deeper into who else might be worth it.

It turned out to be a really long list.

Famous v. Infamous
If you frame Jason's question as a challenge to pick one person out of all human history to spend a couple of hours with, it makes a simple question seem much more daunting. Should it be George Washington, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Claus von Stauffenberg? Can bad people be on the list too? Dinner with Blackbeard might be interesting, if not really creepy. 

Never Heard Of

One of the most moving books I ever read was about Medal of Honor winners from World War II.  These men made sacrifices that are unimaginable to my generation. Surely dinner with one of them would be worthy of the challenge, right? Of course it would. 

Go With Your Gut

In the final analysis I went with my initial gut reaction and chose one of my personal heroes Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I've written about him here and here plus I've referenced him a couple of other times too.

Dietrich's courage, selflessness, commitment to doing the right thing and deep faith separate him above an incredible list of other options.

How About You
Are you interested in answering Jason's challenge? Who would you pick?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



pic courtesy of pinterest

What Are You Going To Do?

I'm busy too...not enough hours in the day...big to-do list...blah, blah, blah.

Decide what you're going to do with your time.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Do the Right Thing

"Cowardice asks the question is it safe?
Expediency asks the question is it politic?
Vanity asks the question is it popular?
But conscience asks the question is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.


How About You
When was the last time you didn't worry about being politically-correct?  Over the last 30 days, when did you decide not to play it safe?  When was the last time you actually took a risk?  Isn't that what leaders are supposed to do?


I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.


pic and quote from WUFYS