A Goal Without A Plan Is Just A Wish

Make this world a more accepting place that benefits from the diversity of every human being

Even though it's been a while since Don't Ask Don't Tell was overturned. There’s still much to celebrate.

Here's a nice quote that's relevant to it all: "When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one." ~ Epitaph of Leonard P. Matlovich, 1988

People should be able to have the career that they want, regardless of their sexual orientance that doesn't hurt others. We’ve made so much progress, but there’s still much more to be done.

Be sure to make your voice heard, through speaking up for others, emailing you political representatives, signing petitions, voting, or simply by sharing your view with others. The only people who can change the world we live in is ourselves.

Let’s make this world a more accepting place that benefits from the diversity of every human being.

 

President Donald Trump: Leveraging His Transferable Skills

If you haven’t heard already, The Donald (Donald Trump) is “seriously” considering running for President in the next election. This is the most fascinating thing I've heard all week. I actually think he has the business expertise (budgeting, negotiation, management, leadership skills etc.,) and lack of BS (baloney stories) going on to actually be an effective President.

Think about it: almost all of politicians are trained in law and government; but in this economic time of scarcity and painful decision-making we may need the business perspective to get us where we should be. Someone who’s trained to make an organization successful and efficient, not to argue their personal opinions backed by “facts” (they pay organizations to create on their behalf) to the point that important decisions can’t be negotiated and don’t get made. When I finished college, I thought long and hard on the decision to go to Law school versus Business school. In retrospect I would have made the exact same decision: Business.

Donald Trump is much too conservative for me. We don’t agree on some basic, fundamental rights (a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body, equality in marriage, etc.). His opinion on Immigration is tolerable, but not ideal as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately it’s hard to get 100% of what you want when it comes to a leader. Sometimes we have to choose the best of what we’ve got.

When it comes down to it, despite my difference of opinion, I can’t deny that…even without knowing the background of other potential candidates that they will be HARD PRESSED to have the overwhelming expert level of business savvy and management competence that Trump could bring to the table. He may not be what we want, but he just might be what we need. My mind isn’t made up of course; I’m interested to learn more about other Presidential candidate’s platforms. But I'm not going to rule out The Donald anytime soon.

He won’t have any problems developing a strong marketing campaign and raising money. He’s a master marketer (or has masters at his beck and call). He already has money to get his voice heard. Being President will actually mean a pay cut for him, I’m sure.

In any case the main points I’d like to emphasize are his transferable skills and personal brand that’s been decades in the making. Do you see how he could make a (an arguably) convincing case that he’s the best person to run the country during our current economic crisis? He'll likely emphasize his international business mastery and expert negotiation and critical thinking skills. He can upsell his unique style of management in discerning unproductive people/organizations and getting rid of those that simply don't work, literally and figuratively. Unlike the status-quo, he has no problem saying, "You're Fired!" when someone (or some program/initiave) doesn't meet expectations.  He may find it more difficult to get "his way" in a purely political environment, but I'm sure he's capable of finding a way out of no way.

His brand of being “no nonsense”, blunt, get-it-done type could be leveraged to connect with the qualities people look for in a leader.

What are your transferable skills? You may be surprised at where they take you.

And by the way: Do you think his transferable skills are too far-fetched or a great match? I want to hear from you!

Disproportionate Lack of Representation of Alternative People in Politics

Even now there is a disproportionate lack of representation of alternative people in politics. Yes, there’s a handful of GLBPQT (still not a representative number) and I don’t know of even one Goth, Punk or other member of a Dark Alternative Culture in politics today. Do you?

Are there no black suit, steel toe boot sporting, skull net-tie wearing Goths or the like willing to take up politics? Why are we not represented? Do we not care about such “mainstream” things as politics? Is it truly because some have tried but have failed to get past the barriers? Do we not care? Is it because we’d simply prefer other occupations? I’d love to hear your opinions on this.

The inauguration of the first President of color is an indicator that the ball is rolling. And like most balls that get tossed from one to another, they eventually end up rolling off somewhere far and underneath some dark, spooky corner, with cobwebs and strange stuff…sounds like the Goth scene if you ask me. Am I just being optimistic? Maybe. Maybe not. Most manifestations begin with a vision and hope. What say you on that?

Want to check out some more fun photos of Goths in politics? Visit the Poligoths blog by Tanja Stark, getting the "Getting the GOTHIC back into Politics - one politician at a time."