I’m Alan Tyson, CEO of DATABASICS. We are a software-as-a-service provider of time tracking and expense reporting software. The DATABASICS Marketing team recently asked me to write a new blog post—they suggested I take a vertical slant, maybe something about nonprofits, federal contractors or the international development community. I’ll do that, but not right now.
Now, what’s on my mind is not branding or lead generation. I’m worried about us, the American People. I’m not young. I’ve lived through many of our country’s challenges and catastrophes: polio, the Cold War with its atmospheric nuclear testing and classroom duck-and-cover drills, the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s, the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the Vietnam War, Watergate and the outbreak of AIDS. And in my lifetime, I don’t recall ever actually fearing for our commitment to democracy as I do now. Ironically, about the only thing we agree upon is that our way of life is under threat. Each side, however, sees the other as the menace. There are clearly people of bad faith and selfish, malicious intent at work here. The rest of us, the vast majority, are being sucked into opposing whirlpools of suspicion and increasingly irreconcilable enmity.
What’s on my mind is not branding or lead generation. I’m worried about us, the American People.
It is looking as if we might not even be able to hold an election anymore. We need to step back and recognize the catastrophe that is unfolding. To come to our senses and see where fear, anger, cynicism, greed and contempt are leading us. Can one faction actually be victorious, trampling the other and still call this America? At our best, we are compromising and mutually respectful, but what about when we are not at our best? We cannot call this America unless these values remain in our hearts at all times. There is a bar that we cannot fall beneath, and I am afraid we are now looking up at it.
There are people who thrive on this environment. Most of us don’t and find ourselves suddenly walled off and disoriented. It sounds quaint to recall we used to be exhorted to love one another. Here, love doesn’t mean we have to even like a particular person. What it does mean—which may be more difficult—is that we need to acknowledge the humanity of that person as being fully equivalent to our own. Another word for that is empathy. From empathy flows understanding, if not agreement; respect, if not friendship. The poet W.H. Auden, at the outset of WWII, wrote, “We must love one another or die.” The choice is every bit as stark today and we are running out of time. Love one another— we all now need to come together and give it our best try.
DATABASICS is driven to meet the most demanding time and expense management challenges through a combination of deep expertise, next-gen technology, and a focus on the unique needs of each customer. Powered by decades of experience, our team delivers world-class time and expense management solutions that are the right choice for today and easily adapt to the uncertainties of tomorrow.
Subscribe to our blog
Recent Posts
Posts by Topics
- Expense Management Software (117)
- DATABASICS (64)
- Time Tracking Software (45)
- Leave Management System (24)
- P-Cards (9)
- Home Healthcare (8)
- Government Contractors (7)
- Nonprofit Organizations (7)
- International Development (6)
- Receipt Management (6)
- Advanced OCR (2)
- CROs (2)
- Staffing Agencies (2)
- Vendor Invoice Management (2)
- Audit Management Software (1)
- Partnerships (1)
- Professional Services (1)
Read on

Integrating DATABASICS Time & Expense with Microsoft Power BI: Unlocking Deeper...
Read Now
How Do Large Organizations Organize Business Receipts for Maximum Compliance...
Read Now
Evaluating Expense Management Tools for Healthcare
Read Now
The Ultimate Guide to Organizing Business Receipts for Large Organizations
Read Now
Understanding Per Diems: A Win-Win for Companies and Employees
Read Now
Subscribe to Our Blog
Subscribe to our blog and get the latest in time tracking and expense reporting news and updates.