I recently attended a real estate conference. No big surprise. I go to a fair share.
At this particular conference, I was seated at a table with eight other Realtors. Now, as is usually the case at these things there is the icebreaker section where you try to get to know one another through some type of contrived game or Q&A and get a little loosened up to participate in the rest of the conference. Well, this particular ice breaker question was, “Share something that you think is unique about yourself.”
Yeah. Right.
So I leaned back on the old stand-by, “I’m a political liberal.” I call it a “stand-by” because I have come to understand that there aren’t too many of us out there. At least not in the Realtor world. And if there are, they sure as heck don’t mix in with the right wing too much.
Which is a damn shame.
Liberalism and Entrepreneurship are not Mutually Exclusive
If you read enough of the stuff in the blogosphere you learn pretty quickly that if you want to consider yourself a capitalist you need to learn the conservative dogma of the Limbaugh/Beck/Palin triumvirate and be able to recite it chapter and verse. Ideological purity is a must.
God forbid you step out of line. You become a Socialist, at best. Or unpatriotic.
In fact, many successful capitalists are also liberal to very liberal. Yeah. Money is good. Money can help create a comfortable environment for me and my family. Money also helps me become more involved in the society that provides me opportunity to be prosperous.
Contrary to popular myth, there are many in our society that, for whatever reason, need the compassionate assistance and generosity of others. By working hard and making good [entrepreneurial] business decisions, liberals can create a society that truly allows economic and social justice to thrive. Giving to another does not mean taking away from me or others.
Selling my services to people who want them and can afford them is not a sin. Neither is sharing.
