There are many lofty aspirations that have driven Don Polk to create and lead an advisory and advocacy group that focuses on advising and advocating for privately held companies, communities and non-profit organizations, especially health, civil and economic equity groups. His group, Don Polk and Company, will work to empower communities and individuals and help make wealth, health, knowledge, wisdom, happiness and joy possible for everyone who is willing to work hard for it. What motivates Don Polk right now, however, is eliminating the dangerous stereotypes and misconceptions that keep people from communicating in a truly productive way.
In a recent statement that Don Polk made about perception, reality and the need for aggressive change, he quoted Camille Paglia in a famous quote of hers about stereotypes. ?The moment there is imagination, there is myth,? the Paglia quote goes. This is what inspired Don Polk to start speaking out on this subject. He sees how beliefs and myths have been created about the people or groups we don't understand throughout our history.
What Don Polk sees is a lack of knowledge that has caused people to ?fill in the gaps? and make up their own stories to describe the people and groups we don't identify with or know very much about. Don Polk compares this to the cultural myths that have been created over time in pretty much every society to explain the unknown. People create myths such as UFOs, aliens, Santa Claus and many others to give an explanation for that which can't be explained. As Don Polk sees it, this is exactly how people make up myths to explain the differences between cultures, races, ethnicities, genders and people in different geographic locations.
Don Polk is hoping he can use his power and influence to break down the barriers of stereotypes and misconceptions. One way to begin is to look at the stereotypes that we all perpetuate, because surely no one is completely innocent of this transgression at one point or another.