[1]Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress



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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