Never Ever Do This Thing

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. “Never mix business and politics.” “Keep politics off Linkedin.” “Keep your political opinions to yourself.” But here’s the deal. Politics are what I do. I’m a political activist. I’ve been a precinct chair, an event organizer, a videographer of political events, a political blogger, a grassroots organizer, a voter registrar, and a non-profit director. Politics have expanded my world and taught me more than I ever imagined when I drove to my first modest little protest in Oklahoma City 10 years ago.

• I learned how political campaigns are structured, staffed, and run.
• I learned how data analysis is used to design get-out-the-vote and voter outreach strategies.
• I learned how voter registration and elections are run.
• I learned how to run a fund-raiser.
• I learned how to seek out partner organizations to help achieve a goal.
• I’ve learned to always have the music first, the speakers second, and the marching last.
• I learned the confidence to pick up the microphone or stand in front of the news camera and speak my piece clearly and boldly.
• I learned how to evaluate candidates and campaigns to determine who has the best shot of winning and who deserves my support.
• I learned how to pick up the phone and call a gubernatorial candidate out of the blue and convince him to come halfway across the state to my event.
• I learned how much control lobbyists have over the political process, and that many politicians are completely bought and paid for by their cash, and that those politicians are pointless to talk to.
• I’ve delivered hundreds of pounds of emergency supplies across the ocean and beaten FEMA to the site.
• I’ve learned how to moderate and sustain a grassroots organization of thousands of members.
• I’ve learned who to trust for the long haul, who to partner with for the short-term, and who to avoid at all costs.
• I’ve learned when to step forward and lead and when to step back and follow.
• I’ve learned that people in positions of power are not necessarily smart or admirable.
• I’ve met my heroes and learned that they are ordinary people with ordinary weaknesses and quirks.
• I’ve cried with strangers at vigils and funerals and I’ve laughed and danced with strangers at rallies and celebrations.
• I’ve had sniper rifles pointed at my head and I’ve dared arrest in the Senate chamber and in the streets.
• I’ve seen my friends attacked by counter-protesters and dragged across the floor by the police.
• I’ve seen my convictions challenged and tested and found that they stand up to scrutiny and are worth defending.

Coincidentally, all of these things make me better at my “day job” as well. I wouldn’t be nearly as good at analyzing business processes, working with stakeholders at every level of an organization, asking the key questions, building an effective team, getting to the heart of a business problem, envisioning creative solutions, or challenging assumptions without my political experience.

So please don’t tell me to “leave politics out of it.” I could no more do that than I could leave my heart or my kidneys or my lungs out of it. It’s a package deal. And it’s a damned good deal too.