Millions of Americans will get together with loved ones this week for Thanksgiving. Many of us will spend time counting our blessings, remembering that even during hard times there are things we’re grateful for.
For me, Trump 2.0 certainly qualifies as a hard time. The combination of wanton cruelty, senseless destruction and shameless corruption is hard to take. But that’s all the more reason to celebrate the things that help us shake off a sense of despair.
Here’s a partial list of what I’m grateful for this year.
As a New York Knicks fan, I’m grateful that this year Jalen Bronson accepted many millions of dollars less than he would have been entitled to, giving the Knicks the financial flexibility to build a team that can compete for the title. It was an amazing move. But it’s not really at the top of my list.
I’m grateful for my family. The people closest to me are the greatest motivation to fight for a future in which everyone can be free and thrive.
I’m grateful for my church, First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Our pastor, guest preachers and fellow churchgoers help me ground my freedom work in my faith and its call to seek justice.
I’m grateful for my colleagues on the staff and board of People For the American Way, who devote themselves every day to defending what is best about our country.
I’m grateful for the diverse and vibrant resistance movement that is mobilizing Americans to reject the viciousness and lawlessness of the Trump regime.
I’m grateful for every person who makes phone calls, knocks on doors, shows up at town halls and turns out at protest rallies. I’m grateful for the creative, funny, angry, defiant hand-drawn signs that have enlivened and energized the pro-democracy rallies across the country.
I’m grateful for all the people who are choosing solidarity with their neighbors and are peacefully and persistently challenging the brutality of Stephen Miller’s kidnapping squads — including the clergy whose witness exposes the fraud of the president’s posturing as a defender of the faith.
I’m grateful for the investigative reporters and political journalists who have not abandoned truth-telling and who continue to expose wrongdoing by political and corporate leaders.
I’m grateful for the artists, musicians, comedians and content creators who are harnessing the power of art and entertainment to challenge MAGA’s claims on our culture.
I’m grateful for young people who refuse to “wait their turn” and bring their energy and commitment to positive change into the public arena.
I’m grateful for the millions of voters in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and across the country who made it clear this month that most Americans do not support the harmful MAGA agenda — and who responded to visions of a different kind of possible future.
I’m grateful for principled and strategic philanthropists like George and Alex Soros, who continue to generously support organizations doing essential public-spirited work, including the one I lead, even as they are demonized by right-wing media and threatened by President Trump and his allies.
I’m grateful for the legions of lawyers who have challenged the regime’s lawbreaking. I’m grateful for the many judges who have upheld the law in the face of relentless assaults — including some Trump-nominated judges who have demonstrated their commitment to the Constitution.
I’m grateful for Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, whose brilliantly pointed dissents have called out the MAGA majority’s repeated betrayal of principle.
I’m grateful for whistleblowers and other federal workers who are doing their best to serve the public even as Trump’s political appointees take a wrecking ball to programs.
I’m grateful for courageous members of Congress, like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who has been a dogged defender of the Constitution and rule of law throughout Trump’s two terms in office.
I’m grateful for the survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell who have refused to allow Trump to push them into invisibility. And I am grateful for the elected officials who stayed by their side — including the Republicans who refused to buckle to the president’s bullying and threats.
I’m grateful that efforts to mainstream the repulsive bigotry, antisemitism and fascism promoted by Nick Fuentes are being fought by some MAGA Republicans.
I’m grateful for the lessons we can learn from the history and examples of people who have fought for freedom in our own country and around the world.
I’m grateful that we still have the freedom to wage our own struggle for the future. Let’s make the most of it.
