No More Hiding. It's Time to Build. - A Sunday Letter from Rich
“Remember, your mission is to hide from me…. If you’re in the open, you don’t want to look human.” All across our country, people are seeking to hide from others in one way or another. But can we create the communities and society we aspire to if we are in hiding?
This quote is from a recent article in the New York Times on survival schools that are popping up as people fear what’s happening—and how things might get worse—in our country. It just goes to show the extreme steps people are taking. But where is all this headed? Who are we becoming?
I recently led a virtual event on how people can rejuvenate themselves in these hard times. I started by asking how they were feeling about themselves and civic life as we enter the new year. Their responses: Anxious. Nervous. Frustrated. Angry. Scared. In retreat.
Do these sound familiar to you? Do you sometimes feel this way?
I just returned from Flint, MI, where we held a series of events for our Enough. Time to Build. campaign. There, people told me what I’ve been hearing everywhere. They are scared to stick their necks out in public life for fear they will be attacked, chopped down, impugned.
We live in a time when the loudest and most divisive voices have taken over our public lives. I believe they have a right to be heard, but they do not have a right to dominate.
So what is our recourse? How do we find a different path forward?
The upcoming elections are important, but they alone cannot solve the underlying issues we face. In fact, the campaigns and their outcomes may make things worse. A basic, immediate, effective answer to our challenges can be found closer to home—in our local communities.
There, we can declare we’ve had “enough”—enough hatred, bigotry, despair, hopelessness—and build on the good things already taking place and create new opportunities for progress. There, we can articulate what we are for—not just what we are against—and reclaim a sense of agency and a belief that we can come together and get things done. There, we can spark a chain reaction of positive actions that creates a new trajectory of hope and put on notice our elected officials and haters and dividers that we are demanding different norms and ways of doing public life.
I firmly believe the change we need in this country today is going to come from local communities. In fact, American history backs this up in everything from the civil rights movement to women’s suffrage.
“Remember, your mission is to hide from me…. If you’re in the open, you don’t want to look human.” The survival instructor knew he was tapping into the visceral instinct of so many people. Hide. Dehumanize. Run.
We must refuse to heed these words. We must show our faces. We must step forward—not step back or away—and join together. We must lift each other up, not tear each other down.
I launched the Enough. Time to Build. campaign because everyone keeps telling me they’ve had enough. We need more civic voices and a civic path forward, not more divisive politics. We want more authentic hope. The path forward is to come together to build—brick by brick, neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community.
We can do this. Go to our campaign page to find out how you can combat the urge to hide or step away or hunker down. This campaign is our chance to renew a sense of belonging with others from across the nation who want to collectively declare: Enough. It’s time to build.
Let’s go together. Join this campaign.
I want to hear from you. Please send me your thoughts and comments.