I haven’t really been into politics since college. Yesterday, I cast a vote for the first time in 8+ years, and today, I’m disappointed in our country. It isn’t right to have a president who has:
- Screwed over numerous business partners, customers, and employees and workers
- Made countless racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic comments including (but not limited to) calling Mexicans rapists, and would like to ban people of a particular religion from immigrating to the United States
- Bragged about committing sexual assault and has been accused by multiple women of committing sexual assault
I have deep faith in our country. The US, like most of the West, has enjoyed, for centuries, a legal infrastructure that is the foundation of our businesses and industries. This is what has allowed entrepreneurship to thrive in this country. Contrary to what many say, our recent election doesn’t alter America’s long-term prospects, but in the near term, we are in trouble.
Regardless of your politics, Donald Trump’s ethical and moral deficiencies are concerning and disappointing. My fear is that this country will devolve, that this country will somehow see Donald Trump as a role model and think that it is OK to screw over people, to be divisive, and to sexually assault others.
It’s also days like these when we rise up as Americans and remember why we do what we do. No matter what is happening in the public sector right now, today we go back to work. As a bi-product of our work, we will continue to combat these things.
Today, we go back to work to continue building, investing, and coaching technology companies that change our lives and society for the better. We go back to work to continue to level the playing field for all entrepreneurs, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or pedigree, in order to not only build a better society but to bring about progress and technology for all people and not just a select few. We continue to be more inclusive rather than divisive and judge business ideas, business partners, employees and contractors on their competence and character rather than on what they look like or where they’re from or whom they love.
Today, we go back to work to continue to chip away at the bizarre power dynamics that may often exist in industries, such as in tech and investing — to abolish sexual assault, sexual harassment, and even just pattern matching by what people look like and not on the basis of character, grit, and results. It makes me angry that I’ve heard too many cases in this industry this year alone, and yet, few will talk about it openly. We need to be more vocal about this to move our society forward rather than sweeping issues like these under the rug.
We have a lot of work to do; let’s continue to make progress.
Cover photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash