"Nothing in this world operates as if by autopilot. There is no meta-narrative, no wind of change that operates independently from the choices we make. Ideas are the authors of history, and those are an extension of human minds. There is no sector of life that is not in need of moral courage and the determination to defend human rights against all invasion.
The coming year will undoubtedly be filled with more revelations, more scandals, more unearthing of the horrible missteps, more interest-group manipulations of the public mind, and growing cries for justice in light of all we have lost.
Brownstone will be part of that – as we have been since our founding – and we do hope you continue to support our work. This institution is really about the community that has been attracted by its ideals and also the community it serves. We do not need to sell its work to you; you see it cited everywhere, and increasingly criticized by those who want the world locked down again. That tells you all you need to know about how effective Brownstone is.
Behind the scenes, there is much more going on, including the formation of a serious scholarly and journalistic community that understands the stakes – a parallel social and intellectual network dedicated to a different path.
But even more than supporting Brownstone, all of us need to recommit ourselves to recovering and rebuilding the path of progress, a job which can never again be entrusted to an entitled elite but which must be taken on in each of our lives.
We dare not relent lest the despotism we experienced only very recently be repeated and entrenched. We know now that it can happen, and that there is nothing inevitable about genuine progress. Our job now is to regroup and recommit to living free lives, never again believing that there are magical forces at work in the world that make our role as thinkers and doers unnecessary."
