There is hope in organizing.

The truth telling that this newsletter demands can be exhausting and disheartening. It seems like each week I have to be the bearer of bad news, more evidence that the system is working against us rather than for us. But I am also constantly reminded of the power of the human spirit to persevere.

While government continues to disappoint (this week green-lighting an egregious military budget for 2022 before passing the essential Build Back Better Bill), the people are rising up. Around the world workers are coming together to unionize - Kellogg’s, Starbucks, Amazon, Columbia University, John Deere.

Alice Walker teaches us that “the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any”.

There is hope in organizing. There is hope in all of us.

Kerri (she/her)

Art by @hausofhoodoo

1. The main objection to BBB by Republicans and so-called Democrats is the price tag—$3.5 trillion over 10 years. That only sounds like a lot of money until you compare it to the boys and their toys (US defense budget). [click to tweet]

2. Around the world, millions of people are rethinking how they work and live—and how to better balance the two. From the Great Resignation to lying flat, workers are opting out. [click to tweet]

3. Anxiety hides in our habits. It hides in our bodies, as we learn to disconnect from our feelings through myriad different behaviors. Most habit-change tools fail with anxiety—here’s one that works. [click to tweet]

4. Something unnatural is afoot. Technology is no longer just shaping the world around us, but actively remaking us from within. Whether you are aware of it or not, artificially intelligence is already here and it’s poisoning our societies. [click to tweet]

5. While Republicans have put undermining democracy at the top of their agenda, Democrats have put voting rights at the bottom of theirs. And if we don’t do something about it, we’re sunk. [click to tweet]

This week, the House passed a $768,000,000,000 defense bill - $24 billion over what was requested and an increase from the previous year despite ending a war. But explain how investments in paid family leave, housing, care work, and education is too much one more time….? This country continues to show us that it cares more about war and the military machine that it does caring for its people. But Dr King warned us of the three evils: “A true revolution of values will soon look on easily at the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation it will look at thousands of working people displaced from their jobs with reduced income as a result of automation, while the profits of the employers remain intact and say: this is not just.”

The Build Back Better Plan is NOT “too expensive”. The $3.5 trillion over 10 years breaks down to $350 billion per year. Compare that to the $768 billion in military spending just for 2022 (more than double the annual cost of BBB). We deserve and need care legislation to address climate, jobs and social support. Call your congressman and demand BBB now.

Art by @subversivethread

There is no doubt we have a long road a head. There are no short cuts to deep seated inequality and oppression. There is only doing the work together, keeping our eyes on the prize and taking care of each other along the way. So that is our intention for 2022 - to learn together, work together and grow together as we take on whatever the future has in store for us and respond with grace and accountability. We are asking what is next for us to learn, where do we need to build capacity, who can we be accountable to, how do we move through transition and uncertainty, what needs to be destroyed, what needs to be created, how do we practice the future now. If you’re interested in joining our 2022 learning cohort - a 6-month community of practice to grow our edges and prepare for the work ahead - you can apply here.

*****Join us THURSDAY 12/18 for our final community meet up as we reflect on the year past and imagine a future of collective care and action.*****

We create possibility out of limitation, liberation out of violence and oppression, joy out of our grief.

Art by @@kahyangni

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