As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week I am reflecting on the many people for whom I am thankful who have been a part of my journey to chart a New Way in our politics. The road has been hard, the climb steep and the temptation to give up has been very real. I would not still be doing this if not for a number of people who have encouraged, supported and sharpened me in a variety of ways over the years.
First among those is my wife, my kids, my parents and my close group of friends. Movement work is too hard and too intense, in my experience, not to have a real community around you who doesn’t care whether you “succeed” in your crazy change-the-world ideas, but will help keep you grounded and be there when you fall down. I could not be more thankful for you all.
Beyond them, there’s a circle of movement friends, mentors and partners who have been so key to me. It’s rare in today’s professional political world to find friends and colleagues who will truly take the risks and believe for something different. I’m so grateful for all of you who have stayed close and believed, even when it seems impossible.
With gratitude as the backdrop, today I want to focus on one particular type of leader every movement needs: Benefactors. The full post is for paid subscribers only. I’d love for you to become a paid subscriber if you’re not - and I am extremely grateful for those who have seen the value, bought in modestly and are supporting the work.
This is particularly poignant to me this week as I reflect the essence of gratitude, the core of what this holiday means to me and my family. For what are we thankful, and why? What is the role of gratitude in a movement? How do we cultivate a movement for a New Way in our politics that never takes for granted all the sacrifices made by so many in order to advance the work?
I want to highlight a few people who I believe are Benefactors of the movement for a New Way and also share the stories of other Benefactors from the past hundred years or so who have inspired me. Are you a Benefactor? Read on to learn more, and join the movement.
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