The Time To Do Right

These are clearly not normal times. We often hear that history repeats itself, and right now our nation is living through a disturbing and surreal version of the 1918 Flu Pandemic, The Great Depression, and the 1968 Race Riots… all at the same time. While Americans struggle with this reality, we observe a government that is struggling to cope with these crises on a national level or provide the guidance necessary to navigate and unify through these troubled times.

As the CEO of Voicebrook, I am motivated to lead our company based on one simple principle: to foster a culture of inclusiveness and respect for every member of our organization and each individual throughout each community. I also recognize the great responsibility of trying to be a guiding voice to almost 60 employees who are all unique in regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, and disability.

Therefore, I also feel a great responsibility to explicitly state that bias, violence, and acts of hate contradict everything that we stand for, both as a company and as Americans. We must remain united in a resolve to address injustices in meaningful ways through our behavior, conversation, and actions. 

Core Truths

I would like to acknowledge some of the core truths that I believe define us. I hope we can all agree upon these core truths as we try to heal our country.

• Most people are inherently good and want to do the right thing.

• It is unconscionable to murder any person in the way that George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, and countless other people of color have been murdered.

• Our government has not provided our citizens with equal justice and protection under the law, and there must be substantial reform to prioritize protection for all and not just the privileged.

• It is easy to stereotype a group by the behaviors of a few (or more) bad apples, whether they be protesters or police. 

• Remembering that most people are inherently good, we should not paint with a broad brushstroke and define the majority of people by the bad actions of the minority, despite the cognitive or political expediency to do so. 

• We have a responsibility to educate those who do not uphold the standards for acceptable policing or acceptable protest. 

• We have a responsibility to demand accountability.

Equal Rights and Protection for All

In no way is it my intention to “both sides” this crisis. I believe the root cause of our current situation lies with systemic racism in America, which has become more overt in my lifetime. The path to fixing many of these problems starts with white, black, brown and rainbow all standing together to demand that we uphold the 14th Amendment principle of “equal protection of the law.”

It's time to get our brightest together to re-imagine our system of justice so that it complies with these principles and honors those who have been victimized by its failures. It's time to learn from the past to reeducate our citizens on the expectations of equal protection under the law, while drawing upon the brilliance of past leaders who have already come up with ways to solve many of these issues. It's time to make sure that we have a government that is committed to these same principles. 

My goal is to see progress toward maximizing the quality of life for everyone, and it's obvious that this is one of the fundamental and necessary places to start. It won't solve all of the inequity in this country, but it is a critical foundational piece that I believe must be put in place for us to re-establish trust.   

We must ensure that the weakest and most disenfranchised are protected and treated equally, so that we all may be treated equally.

In closing, I hope that everyone continues to remain safe and healthy. I appreciate that you have allowed me to share these thoughts, and I’d like to hear your ideas on how we can work together to impact change. It feels only appropriate to finish with words from the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's time to do right.