Election 2016: Politics as a Microcosm of D&I

One of the more interesting things about the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) space is that we get to talk about all of the things that I was taught not to discuss in polite (or professional) company.  And I think that’s a great thing.  Let’s face it – those admonishments to remain silent about race, equality, sex, religion, and politics are most often voiced by those who have a voice.  And yet, by learning about issues of privilege and talking about the things we learned were off-limits, we open up important, necessary conversations.

As Election Day draws near, and those of us in the United States turn toward our local polling places, politics are very much on my mind.  To say that this has been an exhausting, frustrating election cycle is a gross understatement, no matter which party ultimately gets your vote.  And there’s no question that the last several months have been extremely divisive.  We have two candidates for president who both share the dubious distinction of having the highest unfavorable opinion ratings of any two candidates since we started these things.  Increasingly, the rhetoric from both of the major political camps has become angry, dismissive, contentious, and rude.

I was in Washington, DC last week attending a two-day D&I conference.  On the evening of the first day, we had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with Jonathan Capehart, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Washington Post and MSNBC.  He was open and off-the-record about his own political views, but had a particularly interesting response to someone who asked about the rationale of a “rational Donald Trump supporter”.

Mr. Capehart talked about the media bubbles that we tend to put ourselves in.  Technology has made it entirely possible for an individual to surround him or herself with opinions that reinforce and embellish the opinions that they already hold.  This “echo chamber” effect means that, for many people, it’s possible and even enticing to dig in, and never hear other points of view.  We avoid the challenge inherent in other perspectives, because we’re convinced that our views are right, and that viewpoints from other individuals or other politicians have nothing to contribute.

As I listened to this “echo chamber” concept, I had to admit that it’s an easy trap to fall into.  I choose the news outlets that I listen to, and I’ve been guilty of branding other news outlets as useless, or lacking in journalistic integrity.  Facebook’s algorithms analyze what we like and share, and then we get more of the same.  So it all ends up feeling safe in our little bubbles, and dangerous when you step outside to where “those other people” reside.

All of this, for me, feels like so many other aspects of Diversity & Inclusion.  We sit in our communities, unaware or unconvinced that people from the outside have anything to offer to us.  We can exclude those from outside of our groups.  The “upside” of this is comfort – we don’t have to deal with challenging ideas or perspectives.  But we miss out on diversity and variety and thoughts that are different from our own.  The entire point of D&I work is that every one of us has something to offer, and that we’re collectively better when more perspectives are brought in to the conversation.

Jonathan Capehart closed his answer to the question that had been asked by encouraging (and challenging) all of us to actively seek out news from a perspective that opposed our own.  He suggested that this might give us a more complete picture of what’s going on.  I would add that it has the potential to create empathy for those who are different.

All of this, of course, takes on vital importance on November 9.  Whatever the outcome of next week’s elections, we’ll need to live together as one nation.  (And yes, I know that there are some people vowing to move to Canada under certain circumstances.  Let’s set that aside for now.)

We’ll need to heal and come together as a country, and I believe that the things I’m focused on in the D&I space are at the heart of that healing.  It’s about being open to other viewpoints.  Seeing the humanity in others who we might rather think of as part of a faceless mob.  Connecting and finding common ground in the fact that we all ultimately want what’s best for our nation.  Can we look at someone with a different opinion and believe that he or she also wants to see this country be as great as it can be?

These are the things that I’ve written about with regard to gender, and race, and religion.  And they apply to our political differences as well.  As we head toward next week’s election and step into the uncharted space beyond, I wish you the best – no matter who gets your vote.