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Dear John,

These are frightening times, depressing ones.

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump was a sobering reminder of the terrible costs and reverberations of rising violence. It makes us long for unity, and underscores our responsibility to work harder for democracy — the best tool we have for nonviolent political change.

And yet, at the very same time, Trump’s GOP is gathering in Milwaukee, embracing the cynical, politically dangerous JD Vance as his VP nominee, glorifying the insurrectionist violence of January 6th, taking an approach that will continue to escalate polarization, and advancing the Project 2025 vision that will make our country unsafe for so many people.

Meanwhile, the Democratic party feels stuck in a kind of torpor, when we most need wise, shared action.

How do we take action to advance nonviolent change, stand up firmly to extreme right-wing forces that use fear and scapegoating to advance their agenda, and inspire people by showing that democracy can actually deliver for them?

I won’t lie, that feels like a tall order at this moment. But we know it’s possible. And it’s our responsibility to try as hard as we can.

For many of us, Martin Luther King Jr. is — quite rightly — the American leader we look to for how nonviolent action can deliver meaningful change towards the multiracial democracy we are still struggling to build. But what about in our time? I want to briefly introduce you to a few leaders who I believe are meeting this moment.

On Sunday, I stood in Union Square, in awe of Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah. Maoz is an Israeli whose mother and father were killed by Hamas on October 7th. Aziz is a Palestinian whose brother was killed by the Israeli army. They have every reason to want revenge, and to continue the cycle of escalatory violence. But together, they’ve chosen the opposite path.

Two weeks ago, they helped lead the largest peace rally in Israel in a generation. They’re not naive; in fact, they’re very pragmatic. Together they model how to turn pain and anger toward something that could, with risk and with work, start to heal ourselves and each other. If you want to hear more from them, watch their Ted talk together. [[link removed]]

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Maoz and Aziz

Maoz and Aziz teach us that in times of violence and fear, we can continue to organize — in fact we must.

Condemning the attempt on Trump’s life and insisting on nonviolence does not, of course, mean fighting any less hard for justice.

If you are looking for good examples of that kind of organizing closer to home, I’ve also been inspired this week by Congressmembers Greg Casar from Texas and Andy Kim from New Jersey — both of whom we worked together to help elect in recent years. I thought you might find them helpful, too.

Watch Greg’s speech at Netroots Nation [[link removed]] last weekend (delivered before the attempt on Trump’s life), where he tells the story of his organizing — across a decade — to win water breaks for construction and other outdoor workers and the opportunity he had to meet Delores Huerta through this work. Greg reminds us that folks like Huerta and King saw wins and backlash many times in their lives, in times just as dangerous and consequential as these. His speech helped shake me out of my torpor.

I also appreciated these words from Congressman Andy Kim [[link removed]] , the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from New Jersey. Andy looks to Lincoln, who was wearing a coat embroidered with the phrase “One Country, One Destiny,” when he was killed, writing:

“One Country, One Destiny doesn’t mean we all agree, but instead reminds us that we share the same fate…It reminds us that unity does not exist without hope, and that apathy and despair only further create a void in which only violence and hate fill.”

The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in 1968, Bobby Kenndy said this:

“Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanish it with a program, nor with a resolution. But we can perhaps remember — even if only for a time — that those who live with us … share with us the same short movement of life, that they seek — as we do — nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen once again.”

Maoz Inon, Aziz Abu Sarah, Greg Casar, Andy Kim, and so many others are picking up the legacy of the nonviolent — like King, Huerta, and Kennedy — who have come before us. They are choosing a politics that is at once inspiring and pragmatic. They are demonstrating that collective action around a shared vision for making people’s lives better in real, concrete ways — fighting poverty through housing and community development, elevating work and dignity, and advancing justice as a key to peace and safety — can fill that void and bring us together. They are working to heal our divides by making our government trustworthy and meaningful to people.

Shared action, recognizing shared fate. It’s the only way forward, even in, maybe especially in, frightening times.

Brad

Lander 2025
68 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
United States

[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Paid for by Brad Lander for NYC Comptroller

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