Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Job Market and My Personal Views

So I was recently watching a tv show with my parents when my dad confronted me about all the posts I was making about marijuana legalization. He warned me that companies would check my personal information, including Facebook and any easily-linked accounts, and that they would surely see that I had argued in favor of marijuana legalization.

In short, he warned me that people might not hire me based upon my personal views. I was outraged.

I mean, if some manager was anti-gay and he saw that you were a proponent of gay marriage, would that be grounds to keep you out of his job? It would be different if I had actually made a claim to using marijuana... but I haven't. I've instead focused on the economic, environmental, judicial and health benefits of marijuana legalization in a structured, intellectual argument that should appeal to anyone who uses rational thought.

But you know what? I would rather not be hired by a company that thought my views on marijuana legalization weren't conducive to work ethic. I would rather turn away from that company because companies today should take in people regardless of what they believe in.

See, what you believe in has its place in the workplace, but only as a means of creating social discussion. Whether you believe that women or minorities should be kept out of a job based on their race or gender, or if you believe that the war in Iraq was wrong, it shouldn't matter. What should matter is how you act. How you've led your life. Are you a proponent of marijuana legalization? Shouldn't matter. Were you caught with marijuana, which is an illegal substance by current law? SHOULD matter. 

What are we getting ourselves into if we're judging people by what they believe in? It shouldn't matter what you believe in. Hell, it creates a healthy, diverse work environment even if the person believes in something considered repulsive by today's standards (and as you'll see from other blogs on other sites, 40% of Americans want marijuana legalized... but that's not the point). 

If you're hiring people based on their personal beliefs, you're not a company worth getting a job at, in my humble, young opinion.

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