Now is the time to be bold
Transformation is possible... if we organize together
I am moving with my family (wife, two children, and mother-in-law) back to Seattle from my hometown of Ashland, Oregon… tomorrow (!!). That move has been all-consuming, so I’m claiming a few quiet moments over coffee before re-commencing the frantic “fuck it, just throw it in a box” final stage of the pack. I’ve given myself permission to back-burner all other life considerations (with gratitude to my readers for your patience), but am feeling called to share some observations about what I’m seeing in this moment; an update to this post in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s inauguration.
Obviously it’s a dark time in the world: Israel’s genocide in Gaza is the most brutal thing I’ve ever witnessed (the normally propagandist Israeli state media reported on IDF soldiers deliberately murdering Palestinians during aid distribution); the Trump administration’s erratic and destructive behavior on seemingly everything, including the unprovoked air strikes on Iran; state-sanctioned kidnapping of people in the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and flouting federal court edicts… we could go on.
When the world feels dark, it’s important to take moments to celebrate the light. Zohran Mamdani’s resounding victory in the New York City Democratic Party mayoral primary is such a moment: a powerful reminder of what people are capable of when we act together. And it comes on the heels of powerful nationwide protests (No Kings Day) that to me offered an emphatic “No” to the Trump Administration and an invitation to solidarity that people are answering. I want to highlight three powerful trends that I think are pointing in the right direction.
1. Hunger for transformation
This is the thing I’m most excited about. For the first time in my life, I’m seeing people in positions of elite structural power beginning to express openness to transformation. It’s slow, and it’s still in pockets, but it’s real, it’s palpable, and it has the potential to be transformative. The demand for transformation is finally moving from the margins closer to the center.
I opened this post with an adaptation of the Three Horizons Framework (previously discussed in more detail here, and here in the context of movements for social change). In brief:
Horizon 1 is the status quo: the ship is clearly sinking
Horizon 3 is the world we need… and crucially, it’s a world that is possible. We created these systems; we can create better ones.
Horizon 2 is the bridge from here (failing system) to there (new system in which we all thrive).
I think the framework is a neat heuristic to conceptualize social change, and I want to call specific attention to discerning between what we call Horizon 2- (well-intentioned actions that end up inadvertently perpetuating the status quo) from Horizon 2+ (interventions that move us closer to the future we need). This is the primary difference between liberals and liberationists: liberals think the system can be saved/improved/reformed; liberationists understand that the system must be transformed. The good news: people are moving along the spectrum… transformation is becoming more possible.
Specifically, I’m seeing people in positions of structural power in the current system (funders, policymakers, senior officials in multilateral agencies) express a humility and openness to new ideas that I have not previously witnessed… even after Trump 1. There is increasingly a recognition that those who got us here can’t get us out: and a willingness to look in the mirror and include themselves in that diagnosis.
This is a double-edged sword: the bad news is that those in power don’t have the answers. I’ve now witnessed two different global gatherings of elite power-holders in two different sectors: the people who HAVE THE POWER to transform the system… and in both cases everyone was looking around for answers. The good news is that they recognize they don’t have them; the bad news is: they don’t have the answers.
This creates an imperative for those of us who play bridge roles in the system to bring in new voices: to lend our credibility and trust to allow those who have answers (nearly always relegated to the margins) to bring their wisdom to those who have structural power… and to do so in a way that re-centers power where it ought to belong: with those who are co-creating solutions.
2. People are showing up
The day after I published my post-inauguration post, I was inspired to see AOC and Bernie launch the “fight oligarchy” tour that became the first organized mass expression of solidarity. That has now coalesced into a broader national movement, now with leading organizing groups at the table: the April 5th Hands Off protests and June 16th No Kings Day protests were organized by huge progressive coalitions that successfully brought millions of Americans to the streets to oppose Trump’s authoritarian cruelty and to demand better for our country (and importantly: to signal to the world that we do NOT support this administration).
I want to give huge respect and admiration to the front-line activists in Los Angeles who stood up to ICE in defending their neighbors: their bold action in the face of an authoritarian police state inspired many of those who showed up on June 16th. People are drawing red lines: you won’t kidnap our neighbors. And putting their bodies on the line to stand up in solidarity. It’s incredibly inspiring.
When we organize, we win
This is the important thing. So often we become accustomed to our marginalization, to not winning… that we forget that we can. That people actually WANT what we are offering… if we can get them to believe it’s possible, and if we can communicate in a way that resonates. That to me was the recipe for Zohran’s dramatic victory in New York City: in the face of yet another tired corrupt old white man (with lots of love to those elders and white men standing on the right side of history), Zohran led a grassroots people-based campaign that centered material concerns and explicitly invited a big tent.
While the billionaires shoveled their money at Cuomo, Zohran toured the boroughs on foot, at one point walking the entire length of Manhattan Island: this is leadership. Honestly, take three minutes to watch this video; I get chills.
The Mamdani campaign knocked over 1 million doors (!!)… and mobilized 40,000 people. THAT is the source of our strength, and our power. Huge props to the Working Families Party (and let’s also acknowledge that Zohran is a member of DSA - Democratic Socialists: though I think WFP deserves the lion’s share of the credit); the WFP slate won across the board in the Primary. Amazing organizing work.
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman (the embodiment of failing Horizon 1) is willing to put hundreds of millions of dollars into defeating Zohran; the race isn’t over yet (reminder: India Walton won the Buffalo Democratic Primary in 2021 on the Working Families Party ticket against the $-backed old-school incumbent… only to lose in the general when the power elites organized to defeat her). It is our job to back our leaders when they do the bold thing: it is our job right now to show up for Zohran Mamdani. We the people are the source of our power.
All right, I’ve finished my coffee, and these moving boxes aren’t going to pack themselves. Time to get back to it.
Happy Pride month to all those celebrating; I will be back in a couple weeks writing from my new home in the Emerald City… about my personal journey from monogamy to polyamory, as part of celebrating the global Week of Visibility for Non-monogamy. Until soon.
I won’t be holding a monthly community call in June (as you have no doubt already surmised); our next gathering for subscribers will be Monday, July 28th @9am PT (noon ET, 5pm UK, 6pm CET/CAT, 9:30pm India). I hope to see you there!
In community,
Brian