“Y’all have to vote.”
Mrs. Maggard, my senior-year political science and U.S. history teacher, was known for the passionate speech she gave students at the end of each year, and that was her main takeaway: “Y’all have to vote.”
The way she figured it, everything we learned all year long didn’t matter if we didn’t put it to good use, if we didn’t work to be the best citizens we could be. I heard that speech from her half a lifetime ago, but it resonates with me today.
Especially today.
There’s no question politics is top of mind for many of us. I’m certainly not here to encourage you to vote for one candidate or another — or to take a position on the direction our democracy should take next.
But as the leader of a purpose-driven organization, I do believe it’s important to do what I can to further our mission to help our partners make a social, cultural or economic impact on the world.
That’s what we say on our website, and that’s what drives our actions every day. One way to make an impact on the world is to vote. Another is to make sure nothing gets in the way of everyone being able to vote.
Some of our fellow Certified B Corps are taking steps to help voters overcome the challenges of participating in the process during a public health crisis. The B Corp community is a collection of companies that believe business should be a force for good, and inclusivity is a hallmark of those efforts.
Regardless of the election’s results, we believe there is strength in partnership, and our future depends on our ability to work together. That’s the approach we take with our partners, and that’s the approach we believe we should take as a nation.
And if we are going to work together, that means we all have to do our part.
Just like Mrs. Maggard always said.
