Keep working on what matters most.
We need policy decisions that take the suffering of our communities seriously.
Dear ones: We approach midwinter, a time when the renewal of spring and the growth of summer can feel distant. This is time to rest, letting long winter sleep work its magic.
Our vigilance continues, however. As the new federal administration begins its critical work, so many of our fellow creatures suffer. We look to our leaders to take this suffering seriously.
The revolution of values demands policy decisions that revolve around the needs of our communities. Taking suffering seriously means flooding the system with resources people need to survive: health care, sick leave, unemployment payments, rent support, housing, hazard pay, child care, support for schools and teachers, broadband access, personal protective equipment, vaccination strategies and supplies, testing and contact tracing, scientists studying the virus to learn everything we can that will help pull us through.
The suffering is global and the strategies and resources to help must be, as well. Our perspective needs to remain systemic and intersectional. Accountability - for failing to take the suffering of our communities seriously, for adding to it - is essential.
Our way forward through the rest of winter is guided by putting the welfare of people, creatures, and planet first. We must avoid the traps that seek to distract us from this path: accusations of “divisiveness” for upholding accountability and truth; claims of scarcity as a rationale for withholding resources from real people; superficial devotion to process or bipartisanship instead of actions that will save lives and livelihoods.
This winter marks a delicate moment in our history. Our contributions will shape it. Recognizing suffering, honoring it, means taking action to relieve it.
Be well, be safe, rest up, and keep working on what matters most.