Hey John.

A teacher friend of mine—hi, Scott!—told me the other day about an exercise he ran with his students. I wanted to share it with you, because it encapsulates one of the main reasons I’m in this race, as well as why where we currently are as a country should terrify all of us.

In the exercise Scott did with his students, he asked them what kind of government 100 people stranded on an island would form. Then this exchange occurred (I'm paraphrasing, of course):

STUDENT: What year does this take place?

TEACHER: Why do you ask? The year shouldn't really matter for this exercise.

STUDENT: I don't think people today would be able to get along long enough to form a government.

Gutting, right? In a literal (though hypothetical) survival situation, they can’t envision a scenario where people would put aside their differences to live. Does not bode well for a country—or for that matter a planet—managing to survive.

I believe, and clearly students everywhere do too, that we are at a crisis moment of polarization. From the very beginning, this campaign has sought to address that crisis by doing things differently, because we really are all stranded together on this earth with rising fascism and a climate crisis rapidly engulfing us.

Will you chip in a buck or two (hum that jingle with me!) and help us spread a little love, a little hope, and a few jokes to lighten the mood and bring down the temperature to where we can actually just talk to one another?

Here’s the landscape, as I see it:

1. There are Republicans that I wish would stand up for the safety of our union (*cough* Scott Franklin), but they instead rely solely on conspiracy theories, lies, and dog-whistling to hold power at any cost.
2. The richest and most powerful actors in our society—Facebook’s monopoly foremost among them—are knowingly pouring resources to incentivize the spread of the most salacious, heated rhetoric to further divide us.
3. Making all of this ten times worse is the fact that we are still navigating a global pandemic. Because we had to physically separate for our safety, COVID-19 pushed us even further online, making those echo chambers (see point #2) even further isolated and disconnected from other perspectives.
4. FINALLY, we are still fighting for our basic rights and needs, and trying to save our democracy and the planet before it’s too late.

So, as you’ve probably noticed, this campaign may sound a little different. I may not use every catchphrase you wanna hear, and I may come up with a few of my own (bet on it, actually)! But this campaign is not about me—it is truly about us.

When I say “us” I don’t just mean progressive Democrats. I don’t just mean Democrats. The reality is that, in order to enact progress, we need to be challenged, regularly and without vitriol or nastiness. I mean folks who want a better life and who—whether they realize it or not—will choose love and solidarity over division and hatred. I’m in this thing because I really do believe that most people will choose love and solidarity. Otherwise, what would be the point?

Now, I’m going to put a donation link here so that you can give $5, $10, or $50, if you’re ready and able. But even if you don’t donate, I hope you’ll stick around, give me a shot, and listen to what I have to say—because it all starts with that act of listening, and I’m ready to listen to you.

— Eddie