By MICHAEL ZINNN
April 21, 2017
“When we reject ideas, and people, we also reject their potential to change our lives, to innovate and to move world forward.”
Over the past year, there have been many opinions on what’s wrong with the economy.
We need tax cuts! We need to stop globalization! We need better immigration policies! We need deregulation!
While many arguments may indeed be correct, they miss what actually drives innovation, and as a result may lessen our greatest asset, diversity and tolerance.
Around a year ago, Richard Florida, a world renowned economist and author of the book rise of the creative class, spoke at my college.
He spoke about his research, what drives innovation. While working at the research powerhouse, Carnegie Mellon, he was part of an initiative to increase startup retention in the Pittsburgh area.
While many arguments may indeed be correct, they miss what actually drives innovation, and as a result may lessen our greatest asset, diversity and tolerance.
Their theory: if you provide startups capital and resources, retention would follow. Much to their chagrin, many Pittsburgh based startups kept leaving to areas like Boston, NYC, and Silicon Valley. They already knew technology, and talent were important. But, what they found was that a key component was missing: tolerance. They found the areas with the largest LGBTQ communities were also some of the most innovative.
His speech interested me, so I did a little research of my own. My assumption, without making a political point, was that liberalism correlated with tolerance. So I looked at the 20 U.S. cities with the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), all of which were deeply liberal. I found that these cities produce 40% of our GDP, but only makeup nine percent of our population.
I was left with one burning question. Why? Why was tolerance so important?
The answer: When we reject ideas, and people, we also reject their potential to change our lives, to innovate and to move world forward.
The truth: No race, ideology, or belief system has a monopoly on success.
Throughout history, people have searched for a safe haven from persecution, a place where they are accepted. For a long time, the United States was that beacon of hope, a place where different ideas were embraced, and innovation championed. We opened our doors to the world and through that door walked some of the greatest minds in recent history. Consequently, we experienced unprecedented prosperity.
However, lately things have begun to shift; we’ve lost site of our roots. We’ve forgotten that we were a country founded by misfits, cast out from their former countries. We have forgotten that 28% of new businesses are founded by immigrants, and 51% of startups with a billion dollar evaluation are founded by immigrants.
Elon Musk was from South Africa, Sergey Brin was from Russia, Alexander Graham Bell(AT&T) was from Scotland, Albert Einstein was from Germany and Steve Jobs’ father was from Syria.
All of these people have dramatically improved our lives. But what if they had not been welcomed into this country? What if Einstein had helped developed the nuclear bomb for someone else? With our current mentality, we are positioning ourselves to watch innovation and progress from the outside looking in.
So, how do we correct our current course?
Much of the problem stems from a lack of understanding. Many of us never leave our comfort zones, and rarely connect with others from different backgrounds. As a result, we are quick to spurn those that are different from us. Since, we aren’t connected to them, we struggle to empathize, and we paint entire groups of people with one wide brush.
Many of us never leave our comfort zones, and rarely connect with others from different backgrounds.
For change to occur, we must make an investment in embracing other cultures, those in the minority and the misfits. If you’re living in an echo chamber or are surrounded by limited diversity, please reach out to those who are different. They will surprise you and you will learn more about yourself and the world than you could ever imagine.
For those of you who feel oppressed, who are in the minority. Everyday, you must seek to make yourself undeniable. Be loud, not just with your words, but with your actions.
Paraphrasing, Bill Burr said, “You need to kill at everything you do, so that anyone who follows looks like they bombed.”
You are more powerful than you know, and by your immense contributions, the wheels of change will slowly turn.
