This Thanksgiving, I intend to think about all the things for which I’m grateful, but beyond that, I intend to commit myself to acting to preserve those things.

I’m thankful for the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”).

I’m thankful for the Equal Protection Clause (“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”).

I’m thankful for the charitable nonprofit sector and for all the charities and all the people working for and supporting those charities, including those advancing social and racial justice, addressing climate change, and promoting and protecting a healthy independent sector.

I’m thankful for the emergence of for-profit social enterprises bringing social good and environmental protection/sustainability as additional bottom lines for companies to pursue and for consumers making decisions based on companies’ social and environmental performance.

I’m thankful for family, friends, and my wonderful colleagues at NEO Law Group, without whom I could not pursue the work I love doing.

With the growing threat to our civil liberties, rights, and personal safety, it’s time for us to move beyond processing and venting and disrupt our personal lives to protect and hopefully make things better for our communities. For too long, much of the citizenry has been in reactive rather than proactive mode so a wait-and-see attitude would only signal weakness and/or uncaring complacency. I hope we’ll be stronger and better as a community and a country.