"Unfortunately, many of our would-be leaders have opted out or have been pushed out of this system. They've become engineers, scientists, bloggers -- too scared

"Unfortunately, many of our would-be leaders have opted out or have been pushed out of this system. They've become engineers, scientists, bloggers -- too scared to share their opinions (even shutting down). To hold a nuanced opinion different from the "socially accepted" by one group or another will get you "canceled". In this case, "canceled" can mean anything from losing your job, to losing financial platforms/instruments (i.e. PayPal, VISA, YouTube revenue, etc.), to receiving threats on your life." Our consulting consortium is, not by design, a freakin UN assemblage of engineers. About 1/3 are female and includes two Indians, one Iranian, one Canadian, one Irish, two Mexicans, one Brazilian, one Polish, and the token Texan. With the exception of the guy from Texas, we are all the offspring of immigrants. The guy from Texas talks a bit funny, but being from a distant and strange land, that is to be expected; and his great grandmother was born into an enslaved family in the Carolinas. All except three have served in the military. The one rule we have is there will be no sexual, political, racial, or religious discussions once at the client's site; that is, we only talk about solving the customer's problem. We do not have lunch or take breaks with clients, we do not accept invitations to any client's social functions, and we have 'physical protection' clauses in each contract. During the last five months, all members have seen clients' technicians, engineers, or managers either sent home or fired for sexual, political, racial, or religious comments. The workplace has become a very hostile environment, which probably reflects the generally polarized and intransigent American environment. We have decided to give the U.S. another 10 to 15 months to see if America is lost (not my words); otherwise, were splitting up and heading to other places. Also, one of our Indian engineers was being recruited last year by a political committee to run for a local position, but decided the risk to the family was not insignificant.