Passing the Torch

This most chaotic and dramatic stretch of recent political history continues to come at us—I almost hesitate to write, for fear that something else earthshaking will happen the moment I hit ‘send.’ But I am filled with excitement and hope about what this could mean for us and our future.

Here’s our sense of where things stand today, and what it all means. Joe Biden has stepped aside, and Kamala Harris seems very likely to quickly inherit the Democratic nomination. A couple of things are worth saying: one, Biden has fulfilled voters’ faith in him as a decent and patriotic man. It’s not easy to give up the presidency, especially after a successful four years—but Biden has shown why so many trusted him. He put his country ahead of himself, and reminded all of us what it looks like to take the future seriously. Those of us at Third Act know better than others how hard these choices can be, and so we have a deep appreciation for his bravery. To use JFK’s words, he asked what he could do for his country, and he answered that question by passing the torch to a new generation.

And that new generation, represented by Kamala Harris, is fascinating. She’s not old enough to join our Third Act ranks, which is for the best: the world spins on, and it’s important to get new perspectives. Consider: as a Black woman married to a white man, she would have been committing a crime in much of the country when we were born. America’s greatness lies in its ability to change, to move, to progress—the things that she embodies, and that Donald Trump (perhaps the most backward-looking politician in the world) simply can’t abide.

Of course it’s going to be an uphill battle—if it’s indeed Harris, she begins by needing to create momentum with barely a hundred days till the election, and has to overcome the sexism and racism that mars our country. But this means that we’ve never been needed more: to phone bank, to write postcards, to knock on doors, to make the case in every conversation we have.

We are beautifully positioned to help move our fellow Americans over 60 towards Harris and in doing so bend the arc of our country towards justice and a deeper democracy.

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben is a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate, democracy, and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. In 2014 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament. He’s also won the Gandhi Peace Award, and honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities.

He has written over a dozen books about the environment, including his first, The End of Nature, published in 1989. His most recently released book is The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened.