Business + Politics + Religion = Life
It’s another Martini Friday! I’m taking the shaker and olive jar on a field trip to the land of Taboo. Here’s why. I strongly believe we must get better at kicking over rocks and not shying from what we find. What usually passes for discourse and debate these days brings to mind my not-so-fond memories of the second grade playground. And, if we don’t speak up, we can expect to be pushed down. So it goes, in every part of our lives.
You can’t truly separate religion from politics from business - even when it makes great good sense to do so. The pesky human factor keeps mucking things up. Yep, I’m kicking over a big nasty rock here, but let’s face it - business, politics and religion have always been an intertwined mess. We humans are incapable of totally compartmentalizing our brains or our hearts. We excel at bending logic to fit our emotional decisions. And, there are dangerous dimwits, power-mad poobahs, and greedy twits in every company, religion, political party and country. Nutballs on the right. Nutballs on the left. Nutballs in the middle. Good Muslims. Bad Christians. Liberal can be a good thing. Ditto Conservative. PR people can be ethical. Ministers can be unethical. Etc. etc. etc.
Intelligent good people disagree all the time. Let’s get over it already and start talking. That communication can get that stubborn - as we say in sales -”first olive out of the jar” in solving a whole lot of problems.
P.S. Weekend movie recommendation - in line with this post, the movie Crash is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen - I had a tough time pausing the DVD long enough to make dinner. It kicks over all kinds of rocks, looking at the taboos of race and prejudices from surprising angles. And, it’s got a healthy dose of humor.
Tags: ethics, business,politics, religion, human communications
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January 22nd, 2006 at 12:56 am
“First olive out of the jar.” I like that.
April 6th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
[…] “Actually, I’m sick and tired.” – Alan Shore, Boston Legal “Stick It” Today’s my birthday and I’m outing myself. Yes, I’m a liberal progressive tree hugger, bunny lover. Why am I telling you this on my business blog? Well, as I’ve noted before, it’s impossible to separate business from politics or religion. Regardless of the company, job, religion or political party, we’re all human, with emotions and perceptions which drive our decisions and actions in every area of our lives. Further, I believe we must all stand up and speak out, or it’ll do us little good to have a business (rather like having the life jacket concession on the Titanic.) […]
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:06 am
[…] Notice: If you’re new to this “business” blog, Fridays are when I write about anything – including “non-business” topics in politics and religion because – think about it – we really can’t separate the three. And, this week’s ‘tooni ramble is long, with lots of links – so pour the libation of your choice, get comfy and follow along if you wish. […]