November 8, 2017

It’s Been a Year Since the Election—What Did It Motivate You to Do?

We want to hear your stories about life after Nov. 8, 2016.

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Trump made me do it. 

On the night of Nov. 8, 2016, when it became clear that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was going to win the presidency, I felt this need to do something—take some kind of action to combat the collective numbness that was unfolding around me. I took a break from the makeshift “war room” my newsroom had erected and took a walk. That was just the first step.

Once the initial feelings of surprise wore off, it seemed like everyone I knew did something they wouldn’t have otherwise done if Hillary Clinton had won that night. One colleague told me he immediately subscribed to National Review so he could gain some insight into what conservatives were thinking. Another coworker “finally subscribed to the New York Times.” Friends on Facebook announced that they were donating to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. And me? I clicked on over to The News Literacy Project and inquired about volunteering. 

So, now a year later, our question for you is: What did you do after the election? Is it something you kept doing throughout the year? Or maybe you didn’t do anything at all—and if so, why? 

Mother Jones reporter Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn and I want to start collecting your stories. We may follow up with you to find out more about how the election affected you and what it inspired you to do—or not do. Share your stories here.







We may share your message with our reporters. By providing your email address, you agree to let us contact you regarding your response. We respect your privacy and will not use your email address for any other purpose.

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

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