I can’t remain silent.

The Capitol Riots

- A message today from small business coach Tara McMullin talked about the connectedness between all of us. Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, you can't survive alone. You have to work and interact with other people, and some of those people won't agree with you. It's time to acknowledge the pain and viewpoints of people with different opinions or beliefs, and figure out ways to address that pain on every level. That applies to helping a community, serving customers, attitudes toward government and the politics of fellow citizens, heck, even talking with your neighbor over the fence.

Respect for All

Everyone deserves respect. When we see violent acts as attacks on ourselves and our society, we won't support the perpetrators.

This isn't something we kick under the rug. No, it needs to have an effect on every aspect of our lives. People seen as different - those of color or certain religions or different political viewpoints - have been subtly and not-so-subtly cast out of mainstream society for years.

Prejudice and Self-Interest

Because he was Jewish and excluded by law from buying a house in certain neighborhoods, my grandfather had property titled in the name of my grandmother, a Baptist minister's daughter, so they could live where they wanted. Today if you're black and you walk through a department store with an expensive purse on your arm or nice jacket on your back, you can be accosted by store security and detained or arrested on suspicion of theft. This is something that black people have to deal with on a daily basis.

We've just been exhorted by a sitting president to ignore the outcome of an election where no challenge was upheld in the courts, courts in some cases presided over by his own judicial appointees. The result was a disruption of the Constitutionally-mandated transfer of power. We've all seen pictures of elected representatives huddled on the floor in the Capitol while police wait for a mob at broken windows with guns drawn. Is this the country you want to live in?

We Pulled Together After 9/11

I've previously felt politics and business shouldn't mix. But I can't ignore the events of the last 24 hours and pretend everything should be business as usual. I remember how accommodating everyone was for a brief time after 9/11. Our country pulled together with a shared purpose - preserve freedoms terrorists wanted to violently take from us in imposing their own beliefs.

Isn't it time to pull together again? To be inclusive instead of being so convinced you're right no matter what?