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Dear Progressive reader,
As we approach the end of another year, celebrating the holiday season with family and friends, it’s a good time both to reflect on all we’ve accomplished and plan the work yet to be done to make this world a better place for all.
While the holiday season is a time of joy, it’s impossible not to consider those who are suffering, whether from personal tragedy or due to the cruel and devastating consequences of war, poverty, and injustice. It’s a time to express gratitude for what we have and to commit to helping others achieve their dreams of living in peace on a healthy planet so that future generations can thrive; “to see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower,” as William Blake once wrote.
Here at The Progressive, we are grateful for readers like you who allow us to do the work we so dearly cherish, which is reporting the truth through a lens of social justice and peace. The legacy of our founder Robert M. La Follette lives on, more than a century later, thanks to your continued interest and support. I don’t say that lightly; the fact that you can still read the printed pages of The Progressive is a testament to the commitment of our readers and each person who devotes time and energy to producing it.
Your generous contributions also allow us to maintain a daily news website, a weekly newsletter, an op-ed syndication project, and an important public schools initiative.
As I write this, the latest iteration of the war in Ukraine has entered its ninety-fifth week, with an estimated death toll of more than 10,000 people. Bombs continue to rain down on Gaza, wiping out entire families, leaving neighborhoods in rubble, and causing grief, trauma, hunger, and pain that will last for generations. More than 20,000 people—70 percent of whom are women and children—have been killed there in just ten weeks. Given the enormity of the devastation, it’s understandable that we may feel helpless to affect change. But that’s the precise moment when we must speak up and make our voices heard, because peace must prevail.
At the same time, the effects of climate change continue to disrupt communities, particularly those who already are among the world’s most vulnerable populations. And in the United States, a battle is being waged to wrestle this democratic republic from the throes of authoritarianism and oligarchy. We amplify our voices, because democracy must prevail.
In 2024, we will continue to shine a light on these important issues, and much, much more, but we need your help. Without you, we cannot fulfill our mission of producing hard-hitting, progressive journalism. Please consider making a difference by donating online or mailing a gift today.
Here’s to another year of work and progress.
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