Last month, Renew Democracy Initiative held its Heroes of Democracy gala in New York City on the same day that we launched The Next Move. As RDI’s founder and chairman, I gave the closing remarks, in which I explained the organization's purpose and how The Next Move fits into that mission.
The last thing you ever want to hear a Russian dissident say about your country's democracy is, “I told you so.”
Well, I told you so.
I get no satisfaction out of saying this. It's not a “gotcha.” Everybody in this room shares RDI’s goal of defending freedom and fighting authoritarianism here in America and around the world. But it would be irresponsible of me if I didn't tell you that what is happening now in this country gives me a sense of—pardon my French—déjà vu.
I come from a country where the language of “enemies on the inside” was commonplace. I come from a country where the regime privatized the levers of power, so that authority was not concentrated in a body of law, but with one man surrounded by sycophants.
And now it is here—the Putinization of America. As if America's domestic situation were not complicated enough, it is impossible to disentangle any of this from the new US foreign policy. Show me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are. The US now votes with Russia, North Korea, right down 42nd Street at the United Nations. The US is downright chummy with dictators in Moscow and Beijing, and hostile to democratic leaders from Ukraine, the European Union, and Canada. That is, unless the administration is making an argument to annex Greenland. If that is the case, they'll readily talk about how Greenland supposedly needs American protection from Russia and China and package it all in a made for Twitter propaganda video.
Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia. The truth is not going to be a break here. This isn't a battle that is going to be won by tit for tat fact-checking. Almost half of this country doesn't trust the fact-checkers anyway, and sometimes it's hard to blame them. After all, if it were politically convenient, some liberal media pundits would tell you that I don't have a Russian accent, just a childhood stutter.
This is bigger than any petty political debate. It is a matter first of all, of telling the story of what we're fighting for. And we need to tell that story confidently, proactively, and with pride. Because if you do not love your country, then you will not be able to carry the fight.
Beneath the layers of bad faith and the very real flaws, you need to be able to find what makes your country great. But a story is not enough. It is a compliment to a strategy. And that is something the pro-democracy camp is missing. RDI is perfectly positioned to offer this kind of insight to the pro-democracy community. We don't have the liability of political party affiliation. We focus on the fundamentals: the rule of law; our institutions; the defense of frontline democracies.
Today, RDI launched The Next Move, a new media platform on Substack, that unites a bold story of freedom with a clear strategy. If you're looking for reflexive partisan criticism, The Next Move may not be for you. But if you want an honest playbook for the next four years, then there is something for you there. We want you to join us in charting this new course, and you can do that by supporting RDI, subscribing to The Next Move, and sharing it.
Now, when laying out the story, strategy is essential, because democracy today faces an existential crisis. Saying so is no longer a marginal opinion. The problem is that the crisis too often begets fatalism. Too many in the free world are approaching what is happening now as the new normal. They indulge their sense of resignation.
But when you face an existential threat, the appropriate response is not despair, it's urgency. The urgency of making sure Americans hear from those who know dictatorship firsthand; telling us what is on the line. The urgency of bringing essential aid to Ukrainians fighting to protect the entire free world from the international alliance of dictators. The urgency of making the case for freedom on Capitol Hill. That urgency permeates all of RDIs work, but we cannot do it alone. We need your support.
Like so many others who grew up behind the Iron Curtain on the wrong side, American democracy, American values, and American institutions were my North Star. Next year marks two and a half centuries since the signing of one of the greatest documents ever written: the Declaration of Independence. If next year's momentous anniversary is ultimately a way point on the road to American decline, it will have been a choice we all made.
But there is another choice: commit to RDI’s mission. Commit yourself to this work. And the 250th anniversary of US independence will be a turning point. The first chapter in an American democratic renewal that shines the light of freedom into even the darkest corners of the planet.
Ten generations have passed that torch down from the founders. Now it is our turn.
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