Dear Progressive Readers and Supporters,

2020 has been a singularly rough year, one marred by a raging pandemic as well as an epidemic of ignorance spread by the now-defeated President Trump. 

As we head into the new year, we can see the depth of the damage he’s done. Millions of Americans are still not persuaded that COVID-19 is real enough to give up their "right" to infect others, or that the clear and not especially close presidential election result is valid. 

This is due to what some people have dubbed “truth decay”—the erosion of regard for veracity and accuracy. It is precisely these values that The Progressive was created to protect. Our first issue, published in 1909, declared as its slogan: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth [we devoutly hope] shall make you free.”

Now, coming up on 112 years later, this is still the principle that guides us, in an age where lies have become common currency. The Progressive and its legions of writers work to distill and report the truth, in pursuit of our mission to bring about a better world. We champion the values of fairness, equity, and sanity.