“Freedom isn’t free.”
We hear this phrase quite a bit, especially around Independence Day and other patriotic holidays. It recalls the sacrifices of our military fighting for the right throughout history to ensure our freedom.
But fighting is not always with weapons.
Often the fight for freedom is demonstrated by ensuring that people get equal access to opportunity. Now that the fireworks are spent and the picnic leftovers are gone, I urge everyone to consider what are you willing to do, not just for your freedom, but that of others?
Real freedom is the ability to choose, to thrive, and to build a better world for those who come after us. I still don’t think most people have that freedom. Societal inequities – built in structures that refuse members of certain groups opportunities – regularly curtail the freedom of many Americans.
My work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, DEI, a field I have worked in for more than two decades, the last five leading my company, EMG, has been about working towards a world in which everyone has access to equitable opportunity. People should have access to the tools and opportunities they need to thrive. And those of us who knowingly – and unknowingly – create barriers to that access need to actively work to dismantle them.
Presently, we are experiencing a backlash against DEI. Perhaps we DEI practitioners should have expected this because there are costs associated with working toward a more equitable nation. These costs can range from salaries for DEI professionals to discomfort with a cultural shift. I prefer to call them investments, as I passionately believe the adage that a rising tide raises all boats. As more people prosper, our entire society benefits. For some that is a concept that is hard to embrace.
To gain the benefits of a society with equitable opportunity and true inclusion we must ask ourselves why we are so fixated on having more, while others lack basic needs.
For example, I went to Mardi Gras for the first time last year and got fully invested in the tradition of catching beads and other trinkets thrown from the floats. I was determined to get as many beads as I could. I held up my hands and yelled for them; often squeezing myself between others so I could get a prime spot. I had to have it all. I didn’t want to miss anything. However, in the process of making sure that I had it all, my phone was stolen from my pocket. Now granted, there had been a crime alert about phone theft, but I figured, I’m just putting it in my pocket for a minute. After, I thought why did I need those beads so badly that I risked losing my phone, which is my life? In the moment, my human nature of wanting everything, even the things I don’t really need, took over. I admit, I got caught up. Today those beads and trinkets are sitting in a bag in a spare room. And my phone was never recovered.
That is how we as humans are wired. We believe we should have all the things, yet often we don’t even need everything we have. How do we get to the point where as a society we can acknowledge that we don’t need all the things and our quest to have it all can stand in the way of others getting what they need?
We need to get back in touch with our humanity and our empathy.
All of us play a part in ensuring our peers and colleagues are free to thrive. To this end, we must think beyond ourselves. We can enjoy success for our families and do our part to provide a path for others. We must challenge systems that have benefited some yet leave others on the margins. We, the beneficiaries of this freedom, at times caught up in our own success, must be the ones who use our voices to facilitate freedom for all. That is an everyday cost of freedom.
So again, ask yourself what you have done to make the way more accessible for all the people around us and the generations to come. Because in fact, if you only grab the beads you need, and forego grabbing all the beads you can, you will see that there are plenty of beads to go around.
Joelle Murchison, is CEO of EMG, LLC, a diversity, equity, and inclusion and leadership consultancy in East Hartford.
