How might we get our communities and this nation on a more hopeful path forward? It’s a question that’s driven my work for nearly four decades. And amid the growing chaos, uncertainty, and confusion, answering it has become increasingly urgent.
So many of us have lost faith in America. We no longer trust our leaders, institutions, news media—even one another. Our communities, and our country, are at an impasse.
Every time an election year rolls around, people inevitably ask me if I’ll ever run for office. Last year was no exception. I always tell them no. But as the 2024 presidential campaigns started dominating headlines, I and my team came up with a crazy idea.
I didn’t have to be a politician to run a campaign. So, we launched an expressly civic campaign, “Enough. Time To Build.” Turns out we were the only national campaign invited to places as diverse and different as the deep red congressional districts of Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, and Lauren Boebert; deep blue communities like Flint, MI, and Stamford, CT; and politically purple places like Fresno, CA, and Fort Collins, CO.
What became clear during the campaign was that Americans were hungry for a fresh, inspiring message. One that pierced through the noise. One that articulated a new path forward. One that ignited people to take shared action in their local communities on the issues that actually matter. They wanted a message that was for something, not just against something.
Our campaign was wildly successful. Hundreds of media hits. Hundreds of thousands of campaign ad views. Scores upon scores of leaders and residents in community after community activated in forging a new path forward.
Then the election happened and people assumed I’d head home. Rest on what we had achieved. Move on to other priorities.
But if my experience last year proved anything, it is this: we need more civic leaders articulating a vision for our communities and the country and spreading that vision far and wide. That’s why I’ve doubled down by launching the next phase: our Campaign for the New Civic Path, anchored by my manifesto, The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief In One Another and Our Nation. I wrote the book while on the campaign trail last year, meeting with Americans in civic halls, church basements, breweries, libraries, and historic theaters—the very places that bind our communities together.
People told me that we could be better and do better—as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. They just didn’t know where to start.
So I wrote the book as a practical starting point. And I’m headed back on the road to keep spreading this message: We don’t need more divisive politics. We need a new civic path that starts in our local communities. That’s where we can turn outward toward one another, build together, regain a sense of agency, and reignite our sense of possibility and hope. The work we do in our local communities is precisely what can create the energy needed to transform our country. American history proves it.
As I was preparing to launch this next phase of the campaign, I kept thinking about an experience I had in Flint, MI, some 25 years ago. One night, we convened a group of community leaders and residents that we’d been engaging. I asked them, “What do you think needs to happen for this community to move forward?”
Answers varied. One thought the mayor should do something, another felt the United Way needed to act, and yet another believed the local foundation should just give out more grants. Then one gentleman, quiet to that point, raised his hand. I called on him. He stood up, paused, took a deep breath, and asked, “What about us? What are we in this room going to do?”
That question has followed me all these years. Today, my answer is running this campaign to reveal a better way forward—a new civic path, not more divisive politics.
The change we need is going to start locally, not in Washington, D.C. It’s going to start with people like you. Join with us. Let’s go together.
This is the first entry in a new series from contributor Rich Harwood, President and Founder of The Harwood Institute. His Campaign For The New Civic Path is crisscrossing the country this year to reveal a new path forward for creating change in our communities and the country.
