Our Perspective

It’s worth the work.

The deepest wealth inequality, most scathing partisan divides and naked bigotry in US history took place before the dawn of the Progressive Era, the New Deal and the Civil Rights Era. The current moment feels bleak. But history tells us that a better future is not just possible but likely. And we know we'll have to work for it.

We must address real complexity.

The kinds of challenges we face today are complex and intertwined. Our governments — at every level — are stretched thin and lack the resources and civic engagement that are needed to address our unique situation. Authoritarian regimes contend that democracies cannot meet this moment of complexity. Our democratic norms are, in fact, strained by this moment. Strengthening our democracy to rise to the complexity of our time is our most important investment.

We must act in time.

Over the next decade, we foresee tectonic shifts in our civic life and politics. These shifts will open and close different paths toward a hopeful future for our region and nation. We believe that innovative solutions will require bold collaboration and leadership, and that we must work together with a mix of urgency and patience. Building trust and partnership to innovate takes time — but time is running out.

We must work together.

Our governments aren’t the only institutions struggling to adapt to the challenges before us. Community advocates often focus on urgent issues and advocate from positions of expertise on a single issue or community. But the overlapping challenges we face demand a different approach: A view of the whole ecosystem of efforts, an appetite for a generational timeline for critical outcomes, and a committed pro-democracy philosophy. Together, we must cultivate our community’s capacity to bridge the many divides that pull us apart, and to create dynamic spaces where people can learn and explore difficult ideas together.