Visiting a Miracle

Greetings from Medellin! That’s right, I am writing this newsletter while drinking tea in a very stylish cafe in the city that until recently was known as one of the most dangerous places in the world. Yesterday, I visited Comuna 13, a neighborhood that used to be the murder capital of the world. It was full of tourists, art galleries, bars, and a surprising number of breakdancers (shout out to the Bronx). When I was young and first traveling solo, Colombia wasn’t on the list of possibilities. Now, it’s one of the major hot spots of the world.

This is why I’m not worried about America.

I am often confused by the parts of history that people choose to remember and the parts we choose to ignore. Everyone is always talking about the beginnings of the Third Reich but not the fact that Germany is now one of the great powerhouses of the world full of peaceful little villages, a few too many techno clubs, and a remaining penchant for the rules that will never fade. We remember the brutal, violent dictatorship in Portugal but not the fact that today everyone and their cousin is moving to the small coastal nation to take advantage of their nomad visas and affordable wines. When I was born, Colombia was at the beginnings of a brutal civil war that would last until right after my 10th birthday, and the nation would take decades to recover. Yet here I am, at the end of a lovely tour of the country in which I shopped, enjoyed a productive board retreat, and ate almost enough arepas.

Nations recover. People survive. And there is absolutely nothing that we can’t make it through. And besides, we have two things that these other countries didn’t have: vastly more than the 3.5% of a population that it takes to overcome an authoritarian government and the will of the most stubborn, productive, inventive, ingenous people on the face of the Earth. We beat the Redcoats with a handful of starving soldiers and a very tall General. Who could possibly think we can’t beat a senile old man who cheats at golf and his ham handed halfwit followers?

I’ve said it before and I will keep saying it, we are in the “through” part of “the only way out is through” but we will get through it. How many videos have we seen of every day Americans camping outside of ICE detention centers, protesting in support of superintendents and restaurant workers, holding hands to protect their neighbors? How many Olympics do we have to win before the rest of the world remembers that our diversity is our strength, that once you’re here, you’re an American, and even the worst of us will come out to fight for this land, and these people.

We are fighters, and we are fighting. Look at LA, where swarms of people came out to support one of our more middling white male comics and we got him back on tv in a matter of days. This is who we are.

Never forget, on January 6th, after the halls of Congress had been swarmed and our elected leaders attacked, they were back on the floor before midnight to confirm the election.

I’m not worried. I’m working. Times are unbelievable hard for nonprofits, we are under attack every day, and I don’t care. I am waking up every morning and getting to work. I am planning for midterms. We will make Vote by Mail in Jail bigger than every next year, no matter what I have to do. We will ensure that our most disinvested and ignored citizens are able to vote. We will do everything in our power to make sure that midterms sends a message, and that we give each other hope every day until then.

We need your support more than ever. As we enter the last quarter of the year, we are planning to take on 2026 with everything we have. The need is great and our fundraising has taken a hit in these hard times. Will you help us help more incarcerated citizens vote? Will you help us obtain more IDs? Will you help us fight?

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I’m not worried about this country. I have complete and total faith that we will come out of this better and stronger than ever. But it won’t happen by accident. It will only happen if we fight.

Are you with us?

Kat