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It’s been nearly two years since I exited the public arena. For an upstart Congressional candidate with no prior political experience (or public profile), our campaign built an impressive communications apparatus across multiple platforms—social media, email, op-eds, viral video posts, fundraising bulletins, national interviews, and more. We were relentless in getting our message out, cutting through the noise of division and distraction, and in the process, we elevated not just my voice, but the voices of thousands of Americans yearning to be heard.
As we closed up shop on the 2022 campaign and I announced I wouldn’t be running in 2024, the communications came to a halt. For some, this may have been a welcome relief to their inbox. For others, the sudden silence may have seemed abrupt. For me, it was necessary.
I needed a break. I rested, reconnected with family and friends, filled my soul with mountain adventures and starscapes, and directed my energy toward tackling big problems from the private sector—growing an exciting business focused on fixing our broken healthcare system, improving care for seniors, and saving Medicare for future generations.
Apart from the occasional tweet (are they still called that?), I’ve refrained from having a public opinion about everything (good advice for just about everyone these days). But that doesn’t mean I ceased having a voice.
Break is over.
I love our country. How can you not be romantic about America? Despite our imperfect history, our diverse backgrounds, and the very real challenges millions of Americans face, profound hope and possibility endure. Our belief in the great potential of our future isn’t some pollyannaish dream. America’s history is one of progress through adversity, groundbreaking innovation, and expanding freedom, security, and equality for all in the ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union.
Time and again, we've proven that our success depends on one essential choice: to unite and work together.
But turn on Fox News, spend a few minutes on Twitter, or scroll through your uncle’s social media timeline and you won’t likely find the recipe required for American success. We’ve got a signal-to-noise problem.
Imagine you’re in a crowded room filled with chatter (the noise), but across the room, someone is speaking directly to you with a clear and important message (the signal). If the noise is too loud, it becomes difficult to hear the signal, but if the noise fades, you can focus entirely on what’s important. It is imperative for us to realize that there are harmful forces (some of them foreign) whose primary goal is to flood the zone of our attention with irrelevant, distracting, and misleading information. Noise.
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On the 2022 campaign trail, I had the privilege of connecting directly with voters from all walks of life in their living rooms, at town halls, and over burgers in a massive, mostly rural New York district. I heard their stories, concerns, and hopes for their families, futures, and the direction of our country. Their shared desire to strengthen our communities and improve our nation reinforced my faith that American greatness has been—and always will be—rooted in the choice to unite and work together.
From the CIA & White House to the private sector, I've seen incredible potential unlocked when people with diverse perspectives and skills come together to tackle complex challenges. The future belongs to the problem solvers and unifiers, not the incessant complainers and profiteers of division.
Yet, I’ve also seen progress stall when entrenched special interests and forces protecting the status quo distract us from the things that truly matter to all of us by appealing to base fears and tribal instincts of some of us. The profiteers of division create a fundamentally un-American noise that obscures the true signal of our success: America thrives when we choose to unite and work together.
This is a place to cut through that noise.
I hope that you’ll follow along, engage, and lend your voice to the signal we need for America’s success.
All the best,
Matt Castelli
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