What’s at Stake Isn’t Only Our Democracy, It’s Our Humanity

How do you run a small business under a fascist regime? How do you run it when you’re part of a group whose rights are being taken away? How do you run it when you know you’re no longer free and it’s a horror show, daily.

Look around.

This week, Israeli-backed militias launched a deadly attack on a refugee camp in Gaza killing 10 Palestinians with dozens more wounded. “We were shocked when they entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes,” said Ahmed Al-Maghari, a resident who witnessed the attacks, as reported by Drop Site News.

Then, in violation of a tenuous ceasefire with Iran, the Israeli military launched a massive attack in Lebanon killing more than 250 civilians and wounding 1,100 others. They haven’t stopped.

And how can we forget that on Tuesday morning (April 7th) President Trump issued the most disgusting threat ever levied by a sitting U.S. President: "a whole civilization will die tonight,” he said, “never to be brought back again.” That post surpassed in callousness his previous deranged missive threatening international war crimes: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!”

In light of the self-evident bloodlust, and greed, and tyrannical nature of the Trump regime, are we supposed to pretend like it’s business as usual in America? Are we supposed to look the other way and normalize the dehumanization of others, both within and outside our borders? Will we continue to tacitly approve of the evils being perpetrated against our fellow human beings? This is the question of our times because these horrors are being perpetrated in our name, against the popular will of the vast majority of Americans, funded by our hard-earned tax dollars.

If we insist on pretending like it is business as usual, what does that say about us?

I keep receiving the same old small business newsletters:

In-Person Marketing Workshop:
Discover high-powered marketing strategies to increase your visibility, connect with your target customers and grow your business.

Or…

Small Business Grants & Financing:
Learn about community grants to SBA loans to venture capital and mission-based lenders.

These offerings could have been copied and pasted from the newsletters of 10 years ago, maybe from those of 30 years ago or more! None acknowledge the realities entrepreneurs have to contend with today, especially if they’re Black, or Brown, or immigrants, or part of any group on the hit list of the fascist crew now in power.

Is anyone in the ecosystem telling you the unvarnished truth?

Not really. I do hear the murmurs and whispers. I hear the fear being cautiously voiced under people’s breaths, or perhaps more vociferously in private, but is anyone audibly calling out the elephant in the room in public spaces?

Hardly.

I gather, for two reasons.

The first is that the implications of all this is terrifying. Few people dare to stare such horror in the eyes. It’s so much easier to pretend like everything’s ok. It’s easier to postpone needed action or to retreat and nestle oneself in the cozy, protective embrace of willful ignorance, at least for now. The real horror happens later, when this stance calcifies into something more wicked—into the willing obedience in the active dehumanization and abuse of others. This is not what is possible theoretically, it’s already happening.

To understand the second reason why people aren’t pointing to the truth requires asking another question:

Who runs the ecosystem so many Black and Brown solopreneurs depend on?

That would be: (1) the government (at all levels), (2) the big banks (in cahoot with the government), and (3) the greedy mega-corporations (again, in cahoot with the government and finance sector); and (4) the many nonprofits beholden to all of the above. They can’t tell you the truth because that would undermine their own designs or otherwise put them in the line of fire too. So to paraphrase an old adage, you can’t convince a man to understand or do a thing if their livelihood depends on not understanding or doing it.

See for yourself. Has anyone told you what the SBA just did to millions of solopreneurs?

As reported in The Guardian:

The US federal agency in charge of helping small businesses has cut off an essential line of funding for immigrant entrepreneurs for the first time in the agency’s history.
Legal residents, or green card holders, are now ineligible for loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The change was first announced in February and comes as the agency carries out an “America First” agenda under SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler, a billionaire and staunch Donald Trump loyalist who was appointed last February.

Take a moment to ponder what that reporting means.

It means that you can be a legal permanent resident, pay plenty of taxes, be drafted into the Iran war, and be busy building a business employing dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of employees and yet find yourself unable to access the SBA funding you need to keep growing your business. If you’re a green card holder, you are being deprived of your rights and the fruits of your labor as a productive contributor to our society.

Because of this and other racist, anti-immigrant policies, they (and we) are no longer free! And if Stephen Miller, Russel Vought, and the rest of Trump et al has their way, worse may yet come for these people. Detention? Deportation? De-banking? Worse?

People often think that because these policies don’t make sense, their irrationality or patent lunacy make them highly unlikely to be deployed en masse.

But that’s the kicker—none of this has to make sense. Not when the goal is to conjure up eldritch forces, foment hate, and divide people so that the fascists can consolidate power and enrich themselves. Everyone knows that the ideology of white supremacy, on which all of this foolishness is founded, is plain nonsense, but it is exceedingly useful as the playbook of choice for fascists seeking to drive a wedge between peoples, that those peoples may be coerced into doing their evil bidding, no matter how inhumane.

So that’s my point…

Pretending that it’s business as usual is exactly what these tyrants require. For you to do otherwise would threaten their authority.

So don’t be fooled. Don’t carry water for them. And don’t be lulled into a false sense of calm. Things are not okay and they’re going to get worse before they get any better. It gives me no pleasure to be the bearer of this horrible news but to do otherwise would be a disservice to you and to me.

Personally, I don’t recognize America anymore and there may be no going back to the way we were. As painful as that is, we need to come to grips with that reality and envision what’s still possible for us.

For example, the brave astronauts on the Artemis II mission are giving us unprecedented glimpses, not just of the moon, but of ourselves—of the best America has to offer, and of what we can still be. I believe great things are yet possible for us, and that the United States of America can again become a beacon of hope for all the peoples of the world. But that’s not a given. That future must be claimed. By us.

To start claiming it, it’s important to stay informed (So you can make the right moves.); to speak up (This is not okay!); to be a light in dark places; to point to the truth; to be smart and take steps to protect your business and your family; to do what you can to help others; to create spaces where everyone is valued, respected and welcomed; to keep pointing in the direction of possibility. Doing all these things constitutes true patriotism.

In your business—your marketing, your finances, and every other aspect—must shift along with the demands of the times, not in inevitable surrender but in reconnecting with your origin story, your WHY. Remember? You started your business because you wanted to earn a good living doing work that bestowed purpose and meaning; you wanted to use your God-given talents and gifts to help people and perhaps make a big difference in their lives. You were never motivated by mere riches or toys. So make your business the vehicle through which you sow good karma by serving others with loving kindness. We need your best, now more than ever.

So, at this fraught hour, the most powerful thing you can do, in addition to running your business with kindness and compassion toward all, is to become politically active. Support democrats across the ticket and make sure you let them know what you expect from them once they’re in Congress. We need them to fight for We the People, All the People, not for billionaires and the interests of greedy corporations. Let’s remind them who’s boss because we have one more chance to start righting the ship this November. If we miss the mark then the mutation of America into a fully tyrannical force in the world will be complete.

I know that the situation we're in is both tragic and frightening but whatever you do, stay calm, even if the worse comes to pass. Don’t overreact or under-react, but do respond. Start now! Pay attention. Don't look away. And don’t let your heart harden and be blind to the atrocities being committed against others every day. Preserve your humanity, because ultimately that’s what’s at stake. The question being asked of all of us is: What kind of human being are you? As Timothy Snider points out in his eloquent 2017 book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, the final lesson is to “Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.”

In Lesson Eight he adds:

Stand out.
Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

So take heart. The good news is that fascists are adept at talking bigly but at their core they’re bursting with the fatuous hot air of cowardice. They know that what they're doing is illegitimate and criminal. If we don’t let them prey upon our weaknesses and instead stand up for others, and for what’s right, they don’t have a prayer of a chance against even half of Americans standing united in demanding justice for all.