Jason,
A lot of people, especially given the recent SCOTUS rulings, ask me about hope. I shared some thoughts during a Q&A when someone asked me, "Are we screwed?":
My honest view is that things are likely going to get harder before they get better, and we will need to stick together.
What is important in moments like these is not to think in binaries. Good/bad, screwed/not screwed. There is no doubt that things are bad. Some things, really bad. And they may likely get worse.
But that does not preclude the fact that, slowly but surely, some good can be growing as other things fall apart. This is not some syrupy-sweet, silver-lining case for optimism. Rather, it is about a choice all of us will have to make, consciously or unconsciously: will I be a person who is safe and creates good for others?
Will I be a person who stands up? Will I be a person who primarily minds my business and serves myself? Or try to be part of something bigger?
What I sometimes tell my staff is that the world we are fighting for is already here. It exists in small spaces, places, and communities. We don't have to deal with the insurmountable burden of coming up with novel solutions to the world's problems.
Much of our work is about scaling existing solutions — many created by small, committed groups of people — that others haven't seen or don't even know are around the corner. While we can't change the world in a day, we do have the power to make our own world within our own four walls, or on our own blocks.
We can grow from there with the faith that somewhere out there, everywhere, others are doing the same. And we will come together.
That's why if you're a parent, how you parent matters. If you're a neighbor, how you are a neighbor matters. Many of our biggest problems are results of massively scaled up isolation from others — that means many of our solutions can be found in creating community.
Ultimately, we live in this world and in this time. We have no choice but to engage in it while we're here. Even running away is a form of engagement.
So: will your engagement hurt or heal? Build, or bring down?
There is no neutral choice. We can do our best to make good ones, and learn, and do better the next day.
You are allowed to be scared. To grieve. To be angry. But you are also allowed to create good, to be soft, and enjoy the small reprieves. Struggle lasts as long as we do.
In solidarity,
Alexandria
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