Shameless Plug: My 2018 book on activism is evergreen
How to take this fired-up moment and stoke it...sustainably
You’re fired up again. It’s beautiful to see
It hardly seems possible, but the 2024 presidential election was radically changed a mere three and a half weeks ago. Since that moment I have seen a massive uptick in people across all my circles rising up, speaking out, getting political, joining various massive calls and zooms, donating money, and generally giving off “fired up and ready to go” vibes. Everywhere. Even on LinkedIn.
It kind of reminds me of December 2016. When people I knew who’d never been that interested in talking about politics, and who I had never seen activating around politics, were dragging me to Marches and participating in local organizing groups.
It hardly seems possible that that was almost eight years ago. The time it goes by so fast and yet so slow.
All that 2016 energy seemed driven by rage and fear and for many disbelief and an awakening.
Today’s energy seems driven by something more positive, and by an absolute belief…that this is our shot to move forward, to feel hopeful, and to feel joy.
In 2017, when I saw all that passion and energy, I was afraid too many people would sink back into complacency or burn themselves out, whether they got what they wanted in the 2018 midterms or did not. So when Carolyn Gerin approached me about her idea of writing a handy guidebook to making chance at all different levels, and when we, plus our third co-author, Jamia Wilson, sat down to talk about what we would put in that guidebook. I was all in for helping folks build a sustainable everyday activism into their work-life balance equation. Work-life-activism balance if you will.
That’s how Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All was born; that’s the spirit in which it was created, and honestly, it’s still relevant. Because whatever happens in November (and I’m pretty confident Harris-Walz can and will be the winning ticket for many reasons, but that’s another post) the work won’t end with that election. Whatever you’re working on and whatever you’re working for, it will still benefit from your passion and energy and action in 2025 and beyond. And our book, if I may shamelessly plug, will still be helpful for these three reasons:
It’s mostly not about politics, and certainly not about national politics. One chapter is about government, but it isn’t about Trump after the 2016 election, but rather about our system and how it works. There are many stories in the book designed to show you about the difference you can make a lot closer to home.
It is about demonstrating the many forms activism can take, from raising your voice to getting your feet on the street to casting your economic vote every day via your wallet to running for office to protecting your data and identity to subverting oppressive systems to advocating for more equitable workplaces and schools.
It tells the stories of many regular people who decided to do all of the above, putting this theory of everyday activism into admirable practice. I’ve always believed one shouldn’t do nothing because one can’t do everything. Hopefully this book encourages every reader to find their something(s) even if it’s one thing.
So yeah, shameless plug. Get inspired, get moving, get our book!
What else is going on?
Optionality
I’m feeling hyped about Optionality because we just had this month’s Office hours with Premium members today, and it was lively, edifying, and went 10 minutes over time because we were having a dynamic discussion about AI, humans, and how it seems like with every wave of tech innovation we move through a cycle from utopian hope to dystopian fear!
So: Your penultimate reminder:
The end to early adopter Premium Membership pricing has now been set for midnight Monday September 2nd, so if you’ve been considering upgrading or subscribing to premium membership, now’s the time to get it for $299/year.
We continue to bang the drum on normalizing independent work and finding the mutual benefit for workers and organizations. Here are a couple of posts I wrote:
I wrote a deep dive exploration about the concept of mentorship, and how to modernize it for today’s workforce and workplace. (Premium post, but a nice excerpt is available for all members.)
I also wrote about trying to finish the book Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, and why I was finding it challenging.
And just this week, Jory explored why this country pays lip service to encouraging striking out on one’s own and blazing trails, but doesn’t necessarily support it from a policy point of view. The independent worker takes on a lot of risk for their “self-sovereignty,” as Jory calls it, but maybe that’s not the way it has to be:
Finally
and I had BlogHer OG Lynne d Johnson, co-host of as our guest on last week’s Conversationality. You can watch the full half-hour convo here, but here’s a little clip of me waxing rhapsodic about Threads for your enjoyment. (I also think I’m 100% right in what I recommend to Zuck and Mosseri.):
That’s it for today. Until next time, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on any or all of the above. This is basically my blog now! And as always, I appreciate a share of Optionality and this newsletter.
Thanks for reading!
-E
Perfect timing! I am one of the "fired up and all in and totally engaged" people and I was just looking at Road Map in my bookcase thinking it was an excellent time for a re-read. There are so many questions and issues where my friends and I could use guidance. One very pragmatic topic is the relative safety of Harris-Walz lawn signs. I got one for my yard, thinking, what could possibly go wrong? We live in So Cal in what I assume is a relatively blue neighborhood. My son says we are going to get a rock through the window. I proudly wore my Harris-Walz t-shirt out and about last Sunday and lived to tell the tale. But I'd like to have more courage with my conviction! What say you, my political guru?