GIVING THANKS
Special thanks from Jason, Dale, and all of our Team Leads!
The postcard image of the first Thanksgiving – joyful Pilgrims in buckle hats happily breaking bread with friendly Native Americans – is comforting. It’s also false.
The 1621 harvest feast wasn’t exactly a festival of love and joy. It was a fragile détente between two wary groups who didn’t like or trust each other. Sure, it’s not as rah-rah as the legend we were fed in school, but the real story is actually much more meaningful.
Only seven years earlier, an English captain had kidnapped 20 Wampanoag men into slavery, igniting years of strife. By 1621, the Wampanoag needed allies and weapons to fend off rival tribes. And the starving settlers needed lessons on how to grow food in a strange land.
That autumn feast celebrated a successful harvest and the uneasy peace treaty that had made it possible. It wasn’t so much about friendship. It was more about survival. The first Thanksgiving was a pragmatic partnership between enemies. A truce born of necessity. And that truce allowed them both to prosper.
Four centuries later, America feels just as divided and endangered.
We eye those across the political aisle with the same suspicion the Wampanoag had for the English – and the English for them. And we also face our own shared winter: climate change, political extremism, and the rapid upheaval of jobs and technology.
So maybe the real lesson of Thanksgiving isn’t the kumbaya of the myth but the clarity that we rise or fall together. Because we don’t have to love, or even like, our opponents. We just have to recognize our shared vulnerability and accept that survival – of democracy, of decency, of the planet – requires cooperation.
This Thanksgiving, instead of trying to win the argument with that stubborn uncle or crotchety random guest, I’m just gonna aim for détente.
Pass the turkey (or tofurkey).
Listen for what they actually mean.
Look for the sliver of common ground.
Find that tiny path to mutual survival.
That’s how real progress begins.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Newsletter Team to the Field Team 6 family!
– Gregg Millman, Newsletter Team
This goes out to every one of you volunteers who pours all your heart into the work of Field Team 6.
Unknown, unreported, you are a secret army of angels who broadcast love to a big, cold world, just to make sure there is enough out there for the ones who can receive it. The ones who don’t realize how much they need it until they get it.
Every single act of outreach is an act of faith – faith that your passion can melt apathy, that human connections can solve our problems, that together we can save the world.
And if that were the whole story, that would be gorgeous.
But here’s the rest of the story. They DO receive it. And it wins elections!
Your love makes a more loving world.
And that’s why we love you! You are the mighty crew that is Field Team 6. So today and every day of the year, thank you not just for what you do, but for who you ARE.
Happy Thanksgiving! – Jason Berlin, Founder, Field Team 6
I wear a lot of hats here at Field Team 6, but one of my most important rolls is overseeing our budget – making sure that we not only use our funds wisely and efficiently, but in ways that maximize our outreach without ever jeopardizing our ability to keep doing the work. With our steadfast and clear-eyed donors (the vast majority who donate what fundraisers call “small dollar” donations, and what we call “our lifeblood,”) this outreach continues to build, rippling across the states and districts we register new blue voters, surprising even us! Our appreciation to you, our donors, is impossible to express. Thank you so much. – Dale, COO
Wonderful, amazing, fabulous postcarders! Thank you for all of your tireless work! We know postcarding is tough on the wrists as well as the wallet and we sooooo appreciate you for forging ahead in spite of these obstacles. Your efforts have been incredibly effective: in the ‘23-’24 cycle, 20% of those we postcarded registered as a blue or purple voter and when we wrote to people for whom we had no other form of contact (such as email or cell), that number went up to 33%! That’s huge! So pat yourselves on the back (unless your wrists hurt too much), ice the wrists, do some hand calisthenics and we’ll see you back on our site as we keep the 2026 victories coming one postcard at a time! – Sharon, Postcarding Lead
Social Stormers, you rocked it! You splashed Field Team 6 everywhere on the socials, racking up nearly 25,000 clicks that brought in thousands of volunteers who registered millions of new voters. Those November 4 victories? You helped make them happen! And huge kudos to our amazing writers and managers keeping the content flowing behind the scenes. Your creativity and dedication are unstoppable. Thank you for being heroes on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more!
– Deb, Social Storm Lead
To our intrepid and persistent in-person voter registration drive leaders and volunteers who brave the elements and sometimes your own shyness, we salute you. To walk up to strangers with a clipboard, a smile, and a progressive sticker to break the ice is not always easy, but you do it anyway. To register and engage new voters who could be voting Democratic for the next 60 years is truly the work of heroes. You are the engine that is saving Democracy. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. – Jo Ann, Concierge Team Lead
Heartfelt thanks to our textbankers who, as a labor of love, make it possible to reach millions needing registration each year. Special shout-outs to:
Janet, who formats the data and sets up the textbanking programs
Mel, who works with Jason and local leaders to craft potent messages
Our Moderator team, including David, Kathy, Monica, Mardi, Joyce, Shane, Terry, Abby, and Jess, who are expert at getting texts – and answers! – to texters
The Text Arcaders, some 700 dedicated activists who put their money where their fingers are: their token purchases mean we can afford to reach hundreds of thousands we wouldn’t otherwise
The TextOut Texters, 12,800+ badasses who show up and turn out tens of thousands of texts every time we ask. Amazing.
– Meredith, Textbanking Team Lead and Dana, Co-Lead Trainer
To our incredible BYOP Texters – thank you! Despite G*%gle Voice throwing every obstacle our way, you showed up with patience, passion, and pure determination. Over 1 million texts sent – for free! You powered our November 4 and Wisconsin victories. And a special shoutout to our Slack moderators and helpers who lift all of us up daily. Your kindness and resilience inspire us endlessly. We couldn’t do this without you! – Deb, BYOP Team Lead
At Field Team 6, we know that despite our huge dreams and well-laid plans there are limits to what we can do alone. And so, in this season of Thanksgiving, we wanted to take extra care to express clearly and loudly that we recognize that the work our partners do takes time and effort, commitment and sacrifice. The fact that you make the choice to join us in partisan voter registration work inspires us at Field Team 6 and reminds us every day what we’re fighting for. Thank you for all you do to protect our Democracy. – Rusty, Partnership Team Lead
Here’s something (among the many, many options) to do this week and beyond:
Any time at all. Join the (new and improved) 24/7/365 Club! How much do recurring donations mean to our budgeting and planning? They’re absolutely crucial!
If you’re already a recurring donor, hopefully you received the small postcard with the big thank you one of our volunteers sent you! Or maybe you saw our recent email echoing that.
We’ve been reaching out in all the ways because due to legal technicalities we’ve had to set up a new ActBlue page for our recurring donors. We’re in the process of shutting down the old one and we don’t want to lose you! When you set up a new recurring donation on the new page HERE please email us HERE so we can make sure we cancel it on the old page.
Bonus No Thanks Protest: We’re Not Buying It!
Thank YOU Jason, and the rest of the team!! Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope your trip east is a positive one. Onward!