An Invitation for a Better America
Did you know that New Year’s Day marked the beginning of the United States of America’s big birthday year?
That’s right. This July 4, we will celebrate 250 years as a nation. That may sound old to some, but it’s actually very young when you look around the globe.
To that end, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our beautiful country, the United States of America. I use the word beautiful because I believe in my heart and soul that the vast majority of Americans are beautiful, kind, generous, giving, accepting, and understanding people. I know this to be true because I’ve seen it, experienced it, and felt it firsthand. And what I’ve witnessed is beautiful.
Everywhere I go, I encounter people who are up early, working hard, and trying to provide for themselves and their families. And those same people are deeply concerned about what’s happening in our country these days. I often get asked in the coffee line: Do you feel like everything is upside down too? Are we ever going to get back to normal?
My answer? Well, I definitely don’t feel like everything is right-side up. This week alone, it wasn’t just the streets of Minneapolis that were in turmoil. Nurses were out on strike in the streets of New York City. The streets of Tehran exploded with clashes between protesters and a government hell-bent on stopping them. And in Venezuela, people are angry, fearful, and confused about who is in charge and what’s to come.
Then there is the fight with the head of the Federal Reserve. Oh, and let’s not forget that FBI raid of the home of a Washington Post reporter who has been covering the Trump administration’s firing of federal workers. Matt Murray, the executive editor of The Post, said neither the reporter, Hannah Natanson, nor the paper was a focus of the investigation. “Nonetheless,” he said, “this extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work.”
If you are reading these stories day after day like I am, then you are probably not feeling very optimistic about our beautiful country. On the one hand, you see a president encouraging protesters to stand up in Venezuela and Iran—and to stand down in Minneapolis and other American cities. You read completely different accounts of the facts and the truth from reporters on the ground and from government spokespeople. It’s dizzying. And it’s scary.
That brings me back to the beginning of our great country and all it has endured. I’ve been thinking a lot about America’s role as a leader in the world. But I’ve been thinking even more about we, the people, and our roles as leaders. I’ve thought a lot about those who came here based on an idea—a promise, an invitation—to live free from tyranny. What a concept. What an invitation. No wonder so many brave men and women said: Let me come. Let me risk everything. Let me be a part of this great experiment.
We, the people, have always been tasked with building a beautiful country upon an imagined hill. Not a perfect country—because no such thing exists—but a living, breathing one. A country built by, for, and of the people.
This has never been the work of one party. It has never been the work of one gender. It has never been the work of one race or one religion. And it has never been the work of one man. America was built upon an idea that’s big enough to include all of us. That is why our ancestors came here. They came for the promise of something better: acceptance, understanding, belonging, and freedom.
One year ago, this president was sworn in. What a tumultuous year it has been. It’s hard to believe it’s only been a year since DOGE took a wrecking ball to the government, since USAID was dismantled, and since HHS was turned upside down. It’s only been months since landmark buildings were renamed and remade in the image of this president. Millions have lost health insurance since then, and the free press has been struggling to regain trust ever since a certain someone started calling everything fake and suing every network in sight. I don’t care who you are—it’s been a lot to absorb. But here is the truth: The world is watching us now like never before.
Those in power are watching. Those without it are watching too—equally invested, equally hopeful, equally afraid. They are asking: Which version of America will survive? Which America will rise in this new year? Will it be the America that welcomed the poor, the tired, the yearning, the dreamers? Or the America that hoards power, protects the ultra-wealthy, and fears the strength of the many?
Which America will we choose?
On this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I believe this moment in time asks something of all of us. It asks not just for us to dream, but for us to come together to create a new vision for who we are and what we want to stand for. It asks us to lay down outdated affiliations, hardened judgments, and inherited fears. It asks us to stop believing that any one person will save us, because that belief robs us of our own power and responsibility. It keeps us small. It keeps us frightened. It keeps us in denial.
My friends, this is not a moment for spectators. This is a moment for engaged, informed, brave citizens. That’s why I hope you’ll take a moment to read our contributions below from Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, who shares his perspective on Dr. King’s work and why it’s so urgent and important now, and from NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, who shares her insights on how we can best stay engaged and informed.
Just before they died, my friends Rob and Michele Reiner imagined a campaign unlike any other—one in which America herself was the candidate. They dreamt of that because they believed America belonged to all of us and that we can all get behind her. I loved that idea then, and I believe in it even more now.
I have friends who are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, but they are first and foremost Americans. And they know deep in their hearts that division, contempt, fanaticism, and fear are weakening the very thing that makes America strong and beautiful.
America, like each of us, is strongest when she’s unified and whole. She’s at her best when she pairs strength with tenderness. Power with kindness. Justice with wisdom. Compassion with strong leadership. When she is centered and stable, hopeful and inviting.
Just two weeks ago, Adam Kinzinger wrote this for us here in the Sunday Paper: “What gives me hope—real, grounded hope—is not the absence of threats but the presence of resilience. I see it in young people who refuse to accept that politics must be cruel or corrupt. I see it in Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who understand that democracy is not automatic. I see it in veterans who know that loyalty to country is not loyalty to a man, and in citizens who show up, again and again, to vote, to organize, to speak.” He also told me he was more hopeful now than he was at this time last year. I love that.
My fellow citizens, now is the time to lift our shields—not against one another, but on behalf of one another. It’s time to step into the work that history has handed us. Because to whom much is given, much is required. This I know for sure.
Look, I know I am not a young woman. You may say, step aside, this is the task of a new generation. But I respectfully disagree. This task is multigenerational. We all have something to bring to this endeavor, and it will take gifts from all of us to get this right. It will take wisdom and energy. Perspective and curiosity. It will take young and old transcending the status quo in every way.
What I know is this: the stirring in my soul at this moment makes me feel young and alive. It makes me want to engage, not withdraw. It makes me want to jump in, not sit out. I am not afraid and you shouldn’t be either.
Many of us wonder why we were born, why we are here, and what our calling is on this planet. Well, I believe millions of us were born for this moment. I know I was. Great societies don’t fall only because of outside forces. They fall when the people inside them grow weary, feel powerless, and close their eyes. And great societies are reborn when ordinary people realize: This is our moment to rise.
So on this holiday weekend, as we look toward a new year, let us remember: this will be the work of our time. It will not require more outrage or noise. It will require thoughtfulness. Wisdom. Calm. Emotional steadiness. Quiet confidence. It will require us to reorient ourselves.
So if you are tired, take some time to rest, breathe, and steady yourself. Because in this year ahead, every one of us will be needed—in new ways and in different ways. We’ll be needed in ways that call forth our better angels. We will be called to offer grace to those we don’t feel deserve it, and others will be asked to offer grace to us, even when they don’t believe we deserve it.
New Year’s Day marked the beginning of our 250th year as a nation. We could choose to honor it by being angry, exhausted, and divided. Or we could choose reflection, renewal, responsibility, and nonviolence. We can choose to transcend the politics of this time. It’s up to us.
Recently, a friend asked me a question that has stayed with me: If you were starting from scratch today, what would you build? What would you stand for? What would be on your plate?
It’s a powerful question for any life. And it’s an essential one for our country. If America were starting from scratch today, what would we build? What values would we lift up? Who would we welcome in? What would define our character?
In addition to reflecting on these questions for our country, I want to apply them to my own life as well. Because at this moment, I’m doubling down on my values, my mission, my purpose.
Here is my invitation to you: Don’t just think about these questions. Write them down and answer them for yourself too. Maybe even find twenty quiet minutes over the next few weeks to write a letter to America. Write what has broken your heart and where you still see the light. Write what you hope for America’s values, her leaders, her character, and her future. Write not only what you are asking of America, but what you are willing to give to her as well. Make it your manifestation for our country.
Share it with your family. Share it with your friends. Share it with us in the comments below. Then speak it out loud and manifest it into existence. This is how we make the country ours again. This is how we rise—not as factions, not as parties, but as people.
On November 22, 1963, my uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was scheduled to give a speech. He never got the chance. But these are the words he intended to say:
“There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side, and seeking influence without responsibility. Those voices are inevitable. … We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will ‘talk sense to the American people.’ But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense.”
My friends, we are better than the nonsense spewing out at us today. We deserve so much better. I hope that we can transcend the prevailing nonsense and ask more from those who want to lead us forward—and expect more from ourselves as well.
My uncle also intended to say that day: “So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause, united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future, and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.”
And so my friends, it’s true what my mother and grandmother said to me growing up: Much is expected of us. Now, my fellow citizens, much is expected of us in this world.
So let’s stop the nonsense and the finger-pointing. Let’s just go forward united. We, the people, are an unstoppable force for good. Let’s start acting as though that is our collective truth.
Are you with me?
Prayer of the Week
Dear God,
May we be guided by truth, steadied by compassion, and reminded that the future of this country is shaped by what we choose to do now. Give us the strength to reject nonsense, the grace to choose one another, and the resolve to become the America we hope for.
Amen.
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