politicnewsbusterinsiderpostreview: Today feels kind of odd to me, how about you?

Thursday, 31 December 2020

Today feels kind of odd to me, how about you?

MoJo Reader,

Today feels kind of anticlimactic to me, how about you?

If you had told me back in March—with a public health and economic crisis, and staggeringly consequential presidential election barreling down—this is what December 31 would feel like, I'm not sure what I would have thought. For a while, back in the summer, it seemed as if, by the time this last day of 2020 came around, we might be truly turning over a new leaf, putting its crises behind us.

That was wishful thinking. We know now how far from out of the woods we are in terms of the challenges for democracy, justice, and public health that defined 2020. But we can also take some powerful lessons from the year, to guide us in building something better in 2021 and beyond—most of all the power of showing up.

I'm thinking hard about what that means for the coming year, and I suspect you are too, because Mother Jones readers never shrink from big questions like that. And there's some urgency behind why I'm doing so on this particular day.

Today is the single most important day of the year for our online fundraising. I need to earn a year-end donation to support our team's work from as many of you as possible, and that means my job is to make the case just right for this email we're counting on a big response from.

Our $350,000 December goal is within reach, but as of late last night, we still needed to bring in, gulp, $94,000 more to close the gap. Whether you can give $5 or $500, it all adds up to the journalism you've come to expect from us. If our reporting helped you make sense of this year, and if you can right now, please consider joining your fellow readers and supporting it today to help us finish the year on track and ready for all that's ahead starting (double gulp) tomorrow.

I know there are a lot of other worthy nonprofits and causes asking (and in some cases screaming) for your support today. But I truly believe that Mother Jones' even-keeled, fearless journalism that speaks truth to power, is reported and fact-checked meticulously, and aims to advance progress and justice, is key to all of them.

How to best get that point across on this weird day, with $94,000 on the line, at the end of a year like no other? Part of me wants to unpack the argument more, and part wants to just keep it short and focused on our goal, the deadline, and our mission. I did write quite the doozy of an email to you yesterday, about the sudden closure of the incredible alt-weekly where I got my start as a journalist. And earlier this month, I wrote in-depth about how 2021 has got to be the year we commit to building democratic infrastructure, focus on long-term change, and how journalism fits in.

It's a lot, and I bet you are pretty worn out just like we are right now. When our fundraising campaign got off to a slow'ish start earlier this month, Brian, who works with me on these, was starting to wonder if our community was starting to disengage from investigative reporting, like many predicted might happen after the election. That doesn't seem to be the case, right now at least, and that's a big relief even if we still have a whopping $94,000 left to raise today. It's a lot, but getting there is possible, and like so many of the powerful things that happened this year, it's going to take thousands of individual decisions adding up to something bigger.

I think it just jelled for me how today feels.

There is some relief. But there is a lot of hard work to do that can feel intimidating and uncertain. There will be setbacks in the work to make American democracy work better for more people. But there will be more wins, in different places, than we might expect. There will be naysayers who don't think we can do it. But this year has shown a lot of people what's wrong with our system and spurred them to get involved in ways they hadn't before.

If you think Mother Jones' journalism is part of that equation—part of exposing systemic failures, highlighting solutions, and making our world better—and if you can right now, please consider making a year-end gift today.

You know me, I'm tempted to keep writing about what journalism needs to do in times like these. But I think I'll stop here, and finish 2020 with something that's true no matter what day it is, and no matter what challenges we face. Which is:

Thank you for reading, and for everything you do to make Mother Jones what it is. Whether or not you can pitch in today or ever, I'm glad you're with us.

Onward,

Monika Bauerlein, CEO

Mother Jones

P.S. If you recently made a donation, thank you! And please accept our apologies for sending you this reminder—our systems take a little while to catch up.