With Gratitude

For community

DAN RATHER AND ELLIOT KIRSCHNER DEC 25

Illustration: melitas

Whether you celebrate Christmas (in a religious or more secular way), are of different faith, or of no faith at all, we want to use the occasion of this day and the broader season — a time of reflection, hope, and gathering with others — to express our deepest gratitude to all of you and the community your participation enables.

We live in a time when cynicism is easy to summon, when we can readily rattle off long lists of what is wrong, what destabilizes, and what drives us apart. We can tap into deep reservoirs of justifiable anxiety. We can wonder and worry about an uncertain future. Oftentimes it seems like the forces of destruction and nihilism are winning.  

In times of great challenge, throughout history, humans have found strength, comfort, and courage in the power of community. We are social creatures. The mythology of the lone hero is just that, a fable that makes for great stories but misses a core truth: Nobody succeeds alone. 

We all carry with us the lessons others have taught us. We build upon the knowledge those before us have discovered. We are fed, clothed, housed, entertained, and comforted by the work of our fellow humans. At best, we live in a free and fair marketplace of ideas, goods, and services. Too often, however, the human component of markets is sacrificed for the less worthy measure of money. 

We are weakened when we seek short-term gain at others’ expense. We are less resilient when we divide our communities along lines of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and religion. We sacrifice the full potential of our intellectual, creative, and empathetic powers when we silence voices that challenge injustice, inequity, and intolerance. 

There was once great hope that our age of stunning technological change would bring us together. That dream was dashed by algorithms that monetize short attention spans and the stoking of anger. But we would be shortsighted and not very good students of history to believe that our challenges today are greater than those of the past. Each generation must face its tests, and the world has made great progress in easing human suffering and promoting greater justice — although far too slowly and too unequally for anyone to preach complacency. 

We are, as humans, imperfect and constant works in progress. So it makes sense that our institutions of government, commerce, education, and more would also be imperfect works of progress. Each of us can choose to engage in the task of improvement, and this service can take many forms. It can be helping others in our communities, or those in distant lands. It can be in the cause of scholarship, or caring for others, or teaching future generations. It can be in the realms of politics, or art, or social justice. There is so much need, and that means there are so many ways one can help. 

Our hope in creating Steady was to forge a community to engage around these topics. We wanted it to be a place that was a counterbalance to the stereotypes around online communication. Could we have thoughtful and respectful discourse? Could we pause and consider new ideas? Could we look at our world through different perspectives? Your participation has exceeded our wildest hopes on all of these counts. 

We will have cause to reflect more in the new year. There will undoubtedly be occasions for us to gather around pain and joy, worry and relief, tears and reasons to smile. We are strengthened by the knowledge that whatever comes, we have this forum to share our thoughts, plan our actions, and reflect on what has been accomplished and all that remains to be done. 

Thank you all. May those who are hurting in particular find comfort. It is okay not to be okay. More than anything, that is the message that a helpful community can provide. 

Steadiness is recognizing that life has highs and lows. All we can do is do our best to forge ahead and help others along the way. 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

Steady.