Think OutWord Fundraising Letter
December, 2008
"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other."
- Barack Obama, 11/4/2008
Dear Friends,
2008 has been a crazy year. Far above the fray of our hectic lives, two extraordinary events now loom: the economic crisis and the election of Barack Obama. We live in a different world than we did a year ago, and this world is continuing to rapidly change.
In conversations with friends, two observations have been especially striking. One is the realization that those in charge of national and international affairs are really not in control. For many of us, the cracks in the system have become so gaping that we’re seeing for the first time how fragile the status quo really is. Despite our “best and brightest” bending all their energy to hold the economy together, things could actually fall apart beyond repair.
The other striking observation concerns Obama. His bearing alone, his gesture and speech, betrays that he’s no ordinary politician. But the amazing thing about his election isn’t the fact that he was elected, but that the people elected him. He is exceptional in many ways, and hopefully his tenure will bring about real change and will allow the unfolding of new cultural, political, and economic impulses. But what’s truly extraordinary is that millions became involved in his campaign. All of these people forgot themselves for a time and became a part of something bigger. They connected in a meaningful way to something outside themselves - they were electrified by it. What will become of them? What will become of us?
These are critical times. There are huge opportunities alongside great dangers. Society is struggling to shake itself awake. Imagine if all the energy and enthusiasm of this last election continued, if all that spiritual capital continued to circulate and grow. Imagine if the government asked us to become active in our own communities by creating new cultural initiatives, new businesses and currencies, by collectively stewarding our own resources and reforming our schools according to our own values. Now imagine missing this opportunity. Imagine if the enthusiasm goes back to sleep because we don’t know what to do with it, because we can’t create the social forms that will support it, nor the social and spiritual understandings and narratives that will inspire it. The government might not call on us. They might just figure out the “solution” on their own, find a silver bullet, streamline the global economy, and prop up the remaining financial and corporate giants. Or maybe their call to us will be a nothing but a plea to shop - as if our highest calling in life is to consume.
Regardless of what the government does, average global citizens must continue to engage, to educate themselves, to create the new. Think OutWord is one organization striving to do this. We’re only one year old – still just a fledgling – but in the following pages you can get a glimpse of some of the ideas and issues we’re actively wrestling with. Our focus thus far has mostly been on self-education. This will only intensify. Also, as we embrace new ideas and reach out to other groups, concrete initiatives will continue to bubble up (through the administration of our new Credere Fund we’ve seen nine young people step forward with their own social and artistic initiatives!)
We need your support in order to keep up this work. We hope that more and more people will keep up with our progress (you can receive regular updates by sending a request to the email address below), that they themselves will become involved, that new initiatives will spring up, and that new grants will be established through the Credere Fund. Please send a donation of whatever size you can afford. Thanks so much.
Sincerely,
The founders of Think OutWord, on behalf of the whole
Seth Jordan, Sarah Hearn, and Peter Buckbee