Dear friends,

First, I want to acknowledge this is a moment of sorrow. Despite our efforts to brace ourselves for a transfer of power in our federal government, the first few weeks have delivered painful blows: efforts to divide us; distinctions made about who does and does not benefit from the full rights and privileges of citizenship; and severe threats to efforts to care for those most burdened by structural oppression.

There are moments in history when the cost of poor and misguided values is too great for us to bear. When coalitions find each other and push us closer to a nation that serves all. 

We believe now is one of those moments. 

At PolicyLink, we believe we are being called to take up a founders’ stance — to deliver on the unrealized promise of this nation as one for all — even when that nation feels far away. We understand that the sorrows we are experiencing today are deep, and that they did not emerge on January 20. Despite the beautifully written promises in our founding documents, the framers built a government and economy led by principles of exclusion, competition, and rugged individualism. Generations of social, political, and economic divisiveness brews under the surface. 

But the truth is that the founding of this nation was not, and is not, a one-time event: from Reconstruction to Women’s Suffrage to the Civil Rights Movement to the fight for marriage equality. The founding of this nation — towards one where all can thrive — has continued. 

So what is it that this moment is calling us to do?

We invite you to consider joining us in being founders of a nation yet to be born.We want to acknowledge the rage, trauma, and pain that can serve as challenges to embracing this stance. I myself had to get comfortable with the idea that the framers of this nation’s founding documents were not celestial beings endowed with supernatural design skills. They were individuals willing to offer a new vision for a nation. And if we see them as humans, we can acknowledge their own self-interest and the imperfections in their design work. I can be clear-eyed that, when the framers penned the words “We the People,” I was not included. And I can still accept that it is my inheritance to continue to boldly and unapologetically perfect this nation for our collective flourishing. 

We must manifest souls that love all, so that we can truly govern for all. If we are to build something different, we must become something different. We can only govern for all if we can see the humanity of every person, and work in service of everyone’s thriving.

We embrace that this moment requires defenders, dreamers, and builders. Right now, leaders across the country are asking themselves, “Should I defend the fundamentals of democracy or should I refocus my efforts on building a new model that finally delivers for all?” The fact that we may answer that question differently does not mean we are opposed to each other. We at PolicyLink are embracing the powerful idea that individuals, organizations, and sectors can hold different roles and have the same goal.

For us, a renewed focus on redesigning our nation for all begins now. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be hosting a series of webinars focused on new values and governing standards that can serve as building blocks for this future. Please be on the look out for a formal invitation to the first of those webinars.

Thank you for all that you are doing, and for standing with us in this generational work. 

Sincerely,
Ashleigh