What if we all just stopped?

Yes, even this newsletter if it helps us imagine something better.

Inspiration of the Week

Saying no to things you love. 

Dropping the “we” for a second, I, Sarah, who writes the bulk of this newsletter each week, can’t take my own goddamned advice. But sometimes, I can hear it from others. About a month ago, I threw a quote into this section — always the hardest to write — from a book I was reading. Essentially, it said that leisure is “that critical pause during which the worker wonders why she works so much … and where the edges of something new start to become visible.” 

(Yes, I ellipses-ed out the bit on processing grief. Yes, my therapist is aware.) 

I started writing this newsletter eight years ago because I wanted things to change. I needed them to change. Selfishly, I hoped this newsletter could help me avoid working for sex pests while finding a way to get some of the money I had been reporting on. 

It never really did either, to be honest. But it was fun to pretend to be this person, and it seemed to help some folks get through the workweek. Over time, it even kind of started to work — honing my radar for bullshit while lowering my tolerance for it. My agency started to do OK, good enough that we could walk away from assholes on occasion.

But I don’t really want OK. I don’t want to keep celebrating each union vote while overall membership declines. I don’t want to laugh after the big dumb corporate giveaway inevitably takes a belly flop. And, again selfishly, I don’t want to keep putting in 60 hours to get what other agencies make in 30. It’s embarrassing to admit, but only because you can’t be sure you’re going to get more, not because it’s wrong to want it. 

I don’t know if I can get to the other side of any of those things. I don’t even know if there is another side. But I am aware that I won’t find out by continuing to keep busy. Even when I love the things that keep me busy very much.

So, yeah, as you have probably guessed by now, I am putting this newsletter on pause for the summer. I may rethink it and come back to it, or I may redirect this energy to something that seems more likely to force our economy to work for more people. Or maybe I’ll rest — not because it’s a radical act for a white lady to take a nap, but because it’s the only way to see a path something else. 

Forward this email to anyone who’s ready to imagine something different. They can email me at sarah@theget.agency, where I will be taking suggestions of all stripes.

If you are a paid subscriber, I will 100% continue to take your money, double it, and donate it to progressive causes. But if you want to do that yourself, please cancel your subscription!