This is not a post directed at entrepreneurs, but since entrepreneurs are in fact people - most of them anyway - it might be of interest...who knows. Besides, I think I may be the only person who reads my posts, as I am of course fascinated by my insights. :-)
Sometimes - without warning, and often against my will - I do a complete 180 and surprise myself by abandoning (or at least questioning) long-held beliefs. This isn't something I plan, mind you...for no reason at all, sometimes it just hits me that something that I am passionately opposed to or in favor of; have loudly protested or supported; have argued for or against, may not be quite so black and white after all. This used to irritate me, as changing these beliefs is paramount to shouting, "hey! I was wrong!" I have come to welcome these moments, though, as I believe they may just represent personal growth.
It is easy to look at a situation from your point of view...it takes courage and determination to consider - really consider - something from an opposing viewpoint. I try to make it a point to look at both sides of an equation...oftentimes I fail miserably. I have strong political views, for example, which comes as no surprise to those who know me. However, I do try - and again, sometimes fail - to step back and consider that my view may either be wrong, or at least complicated in its "rightness" (how's that for failing to fully commit to any "wrongness" on my part). I do not expect to radically change my political views, by the way, though I find myself trying to be more open to dialogue when the occasion presents itself. But, I digress.
Tonight I sat down for the first time in five months to spend an hour reading a magazine. Fortune came in the mail today, and I was excited to see that it was the issue that contained a roundup of "The 50 Most Powerful Women in America." (There was also an international version.) I read this section and marveled at the accomplishments of these remarkable women, devoted a little time to feeling inadequate and inferior, and then pondered how I, too, can make a difference. Then it hit me.
Here I am feeling all proud and puffed up to be a member of this exalted club - women! - when it dawned on me that I had just read and enjoyed an entire section of a national magazine devoted to successful women. Had it been an article about successful men, would I have paid as much attention or spent as much time on it? Doubtful. I would have scanned it, picked out the few I thought were interesting or particularly cute and read their profiles. How is this different from African Americans enjoying a full month devoted to Black History every February?
It has always really gnawed at me that we have to even bring up race when we discuss history...why can't we learn about our forefathers and admire them not for their race but for their accomplishments? Isn't this a continuation of the "separate but equal" policy that civil rights icons fought - and sometimes died - for? Why must we devote so much media time and attention to "The greatest black athlete who ever lived" or "Great African American authors of the 20th century?" Why must there be separate entertainment channels on tv devoted exclusively to African Americans, or any other race for that matter?
Then it hit me. I just read an article - a series of articles, really - about women who have made a difference, and it made me proud. Why? Because I am a woman. We like to read about, hear about, and see that people LIKE US can do it - whatever "it" may mean to each of us. Kids in the black community want to read about and be proud of the African American leaders who have made history. Women want to have a tv channel that is devoted to them - Lifetime even has a tagline that proudly proclaims it's "Television for Women."
And that carries over into politics as well. It still amazes me that anyone who freely admitted they voted for Barack Obama because he has black skin would 1)make a choice on that alone and 2)admit that they had made a choice on that alone. But now I think I understand it a little more. Don't get me wrong - many people of all races voted for Barack Obama, and for reasons totally unrelated to race. But to those who say they voted for him because they wanted to see a black president in their lifetime, I say this: I apologize for judging you. You see, even though I look at the issues and try to educate myself before I make political decisions, I find myself realizing that I have on several occasions commented that I would like to see a woman president in my lifetime!
We all want to see people LIKE US become successful...blaze trails...do something that makes the world sit up and take notice. And that's ok. It's human instinct, and while it may not be a reason to make a critical decision, that instinct will kick in when you least expect it - and whether you want it to or not. Who's to say that one day down the road I won't find myself pulling a lever for a candidate for president because she is - well, a "she."
Maybe I don't know everything just yet. Maybe, just maybe, I have a few more things to learn - or perhaps to realize and acknowledge not about others but about myself.
Of course, now that I've brought up the whole presidential thing I must let you know that I still do not plan to vote for Barack Obama in 2012, and I hope that those who do will do so because they have carefully considered his stance on issues of importance to them. I for one am in Herman Cain's camp right now. But if a strong conservative-minded woman were to suddenly appear on the radar screen... :-)
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