This is a call to action - for you, for me, for all of us. The coming year needs more from us than we've ever given before.
Every new year I make my resolutions like so many of us. I think about what I can do better and what I want to change in my life. But I've suddenly realized that those things don't matter like they used to. This year, my promises and my action need to be more.
I just watched the news, you see. These aren't normal times, are they? We have elections coming up that may decide the fate of our democracy. Across the world innocent people are struggling and starving and need our help. And our world, this precious home of ours, is in terrible trouble. The clock is ticking, and every day counts.
I'm not saying this to make you despair. Quite the opposite! I'm leaning out the window, blowing the horn, shouting as loud as I can.
This year I'm not going to make my little list of private promises. Nope. This is a public declaration. This year, my resolution is a vow: a year of action.
I'm joining the Brigade.
What's the Brigade, you ask? Well, picture yourself in a fire station. Suddenly the fire alarm goes off. You drop everything, leave your meal half-eaten, slide down the pole and pull on your gear. You jump into the trucks with the rest of your team and swing out onto the street, sirens wailing, ready for action. There are fires blazing and lives at stake.
You've probably been part of the team for years, even though you never thought of it that way. But this year, let's show the world what extraordinary action looks like.
Let's do all we can, no, more than we think we can, more than we've ever done, in the year ahead. Let's pour out our energy and our love and our courage for our country and our world that needs us in this crucial time.
This year, let's be everywhere. Let's be the people holding signs, calling for change. Let's be the ones passing out the meals and handing out blankets at the shelters. Let it be our names on the petitions and on the donations and at the voting booths.
Can you hear that, out your window, the shouts and singing and horns? Can you feel the thunder of a million feet, marching down the street? That's what action sounds like.
Join us!