You may be wondering why I haven’t been writing as much on Lucky7 this year. Well, I’ve been very busy with data.world but also in campaigning for what would hopefully be a Biden+Harris win over Trump+Pence. I made a New Year’s Resolution to do so, understanding that it is hard to step out there as such a public CEO. But I knew I wasn’t going to be able to look our children in the eye if I didn’t do so and Trump won again - I had to do everything I personally could to protect our democracy. I kept my personal activities campaigning separate from my work activities as the CEO of data.world to the best of my ability, but I got really active to say the least. This took a lot of time and I’m very happy to be even a small part of this historic win for our country. As of this writing, Biden+Harris are projected to receive 306 Electoral College votes and also win by over 5.5m votes in the popular vote count.
I should point out that I’m a centrist and a proud Independent voter, having voted for as many Republicans as I have Democrats. I vote my conscience and base my vote on policies and what I think our country most needs. As an entrepreneur, I really value the ability to think independently. Thinking this way requires you to use your intellect to see the world differently and not fall into following the herd. There are good reasons for herd thinking given our evolutionary history, but it is not always conducive to the best decision making. Independent thinking helps me come up with business ideas as well as evaluate new investments and entrepreneurs (note: we are now in 93 startups and 29 VC funds, although data.world certainly takes the majority of my time as CEO and has been my primary career passion for five years and running now).
I especially become involved with Innovators for Biden, Biden Means Business, No Labels (bipartisan), AIPAC (bipartisan), Braver Angels (bipartisan), and too many Zoomfundraisers to count (the last of which was with Stephen Colbert and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the evening of Oct. 29). I also wrote many public Facebook posts as I have a large following on there, and I would often share Heather Cox Richardson’s daily Letters from an American too (if you haven’t subscribed to her free newsletter, I highly recommend it).
There are three big reasons why you should have faith in Biden+Harris being a truly great and historic team in leading our nation:
1. Biden has had a hard life with a lot of loss and he grew up in pretty humble roots. This gives him a level of real empathy that Trump just doesn't have (very different roots as Trump was born with a platinum spoon in his mouth). It is clear that our nation is screaming out to be heard - on all sides and in all regions (rural to cities). We must all come together and heal and Biden is uniquely qualified for this moment. He's a centrist, and that's exactly what we need right now. I wrote a long public Facebook post on Oct. 20 about the power of empathy, which references prior presidential campaigns where it was lacking as well as the lack of empathy shown by President Trump to many throughout his time in office.
2. We reached a new high of 181,196 COVID-19 cases in the US yesterday. The main impact on our economy is the fear of getting this virus, and we've had over 245,000 deaths in the US so far. Biden was the leader that Obama tapped to lead us out of the Great Recession, and there is no doubt he did a terrific job of that. As one of many measures of that, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed from 7,063 on Feb. 1, 2009 to 20,812 on Feb. 1, 2017. Were Obama+Biden responsible for all of those gains? Of course not, but then neither were Trump+Pence responsible for all of the gains from Feb. 1, 2017 to today, where the Dow is at 29,480. Policies do matter though, and Obama+Biden inherited an economy in shambles, much like Biden+Harris will be inheriting on Jan. 20, 2021 when they take office. I wrote a long public Facebook post on Nov. 1 about my biggest fear if Trump won again, specifically on this point.
3. Maybe you'll think this should be part of #1 above, but I believe it should be treated on its own given its importance. We have to heal the very real racial divides in this country. The median wealth of Black American households in the US is literally 1/10th that of White American households. Think about that - 1/10th, and in 2020! Harris is a historic choice for that as our first female Vice President, as well as our first Vice President of both Black and Indian origins. She was born as a child of the world in the land of opportunity. She's achieved a lot and will use this much larger platform well. Note that I have not, and do not, endorse rioting or looting. But the vast majority of the protests following George Floyd's horrific murder were indeed peaceful and there is an energy and movement there that we must recognize and empathize with. I see you, and you see me. All people in our country want equality - to just be treated as human beings and Americans first and judged on their inner character, not their outside appearance or choices of whom to love and perhaps even marry, whether that is Female or Male, or Black or White, or any combination of races or genders.
Outside of the dislocation in reality that is currently occurring in the Trump Administration as they grapple with and deny this loss, this is a beautiful moment for our country. It is a truly historic win and a clear rebuke of Trump. Now, we must come together for the good of our nation, and in the middle of an accelerating pandemic. I offer a hand to you, no matter who you voted for. We will evolve, heal, and prosper together... this is the UNITED States of America.
