In this season of gift-giving, I have recently received a few wrapped in unusual packages. One came to me by way of Albert, a plumber I hired last week to take care of a problem I had at home. Albert is a first generation Israeli immigrant, proud to be an American and quick to tell me he is rich. Recommended by a friend, he responded promptly, took care of my problem in 15 minutes and charged me $125 to contribute to his richness. With check in hand and time to spare, Albert turned to me and, unprovoked, said, “I voted for Trump and he is going to make America great again!”
I took the bait. “How?” I asked him, while asking myself “Why me!” Now animated and ready to take me on, Albert shared one soundbite after another while literally not letting me get a word in edgewise. When I asked him to listen to me for just a few minutes, he said, “No!” When I nonetheless stated that I doubted Trump would do everything he promised, Albert laid down a challenge. “I will come back here one year from today and if Trump has done what he has promised to do, I want you to apologize to me! Will you do that?” I put my arm around Albert, who was feeling like he had the upper hand, and said, “Yes. And if he hasn’t, will you agree to just listen to me for 30 minutes?”
Albert, the package, was not the gift. Nor were his words. The gift did not reveal itself until the shock of the encounter wore off. Then, I took time to understand that Albert was part of a chorus, one among many fitfully trying to find their voices. Albert chose the chorus of Trump; others have chosen the chorus of Black Lives Matter, or The Working Poor or the Many Faces of the Disenfranchised – politically, economically or environmentally. For each the lyrics may be different, but the refrain is the same: I AM somebody; SEE me; CARE about me; be FAIR to me, my family and my tribe. They all want change; they all deserve it. And for most, the desire for change is both a recognition of daunting obstacles AND an expression of hope. The gift Albert delivered was a pin — to burst my own bubble and see more clearly the realities of others beyond my own.
Albert also delivered a second gift, an even more important one. As coined by Van Jones, the “messy truth” is that the obstacles we face are far more deeply anchored in the American Psyche then our perceived progress toward “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all” would suggest. These obstacles find their strength in the strangling of equity through the concentration of wealth, political power free from concern for the common good and the indifferent pitting of Americans against each other. And they are becoming more intractable. In the usual sanctuary of my kitchen, Albert had delivered a sharply discomforting message of deep divides, with a silver lining: the gift of obstacles too obvious to ignore.
Obstacles do not become any less slippery or hazardous when we embrace them as gifts. But they can become stepping stones toward growth, wisdom and innovation. Obstacles force us to persistently and collectively draw more deeply upon our intelligence, values and courage to produce outcomes that are better than before — and sometimes amazing. They are gifts we didn’t ask for, usually in packages that aren’t pretty, yet they provide the keys to a better life and a better country. By overcoming the extraordinary ones facing us as a nation, we can live enriched lives in a greater, better more equitable America.
As President Kennedy framed it, we can choose to embrace these obstacles
“…not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Nevertheless, too often the effort and sacrifice to overcome our obstacles seems like something that should be put off to another day, relegated to another person or ignored altogether. After all, although the arc of the moral universe is long, doesn’t it always bend toward justice?
No. Not by itself. And maybe not in time to save our children, let alone ourselves.
We are at a decisive, urgent moment. The foundation of our democracy is shaking and our social fabric is fraying before our eyes. We delay overcoming the obstacles before us now at our own peril. They will not yield easily, and neither must we.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Let’s not be too late. There is an inevitability to the challenge we face: we either win or we lose. Let’s make a determination to win. To be victorious in each of our daily endeavors to transform our lives, and those of others, to create a more perfect union consistent with the ideals that have made us great as a nation.
“The important thing is to advance brightly and strive to be victorious at each moment, right where we are; to begin something here and now instead of fretting and worrying over what will happen. This is the starting point for transforming our lives.” Daisaku Ikeda
Or simply put in the words of the basketball great, lay philosopher and my personal hero, Bill Russell:
“The game is scheduled. We have to play. We might as well win.”
I’ve picked my place to play and win. I believe at the heart of America’s success as a nation is its transformation into an equitable, multicultural society that is an engine for growth and prosperity. An extraordinary undertaking, transforming America to meet its full potential will require us to re-imagine, re-think and re-invent our social institutions, government policies and financial system. Reinventure Capital sees itself making a contribution to a transformed America as a pioneer in re-inventing investing. We see our role as creating and expanding a new financial platform that capitalizes on current asymmetric conditions in the private financial market — a rapidly growing yet untapped pool of founders who are of color and women — and catalyzes, by example, an inclusive approach to investing that creates more value for all.
Pick your own place, or join us. We have a role for you. Contact me at: ed@reinventurecapital.com. Let’s explore how we can collaborate and invest in each other. The time is now.
Happy holidays!