The Work Worth Fighting For

Dear readers,

I’ve been grappling with what to say at a moment like this. Having been personally targeted, having to take out restraining orders to protect my family, I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of political and personal hatred. I was targeted because I worked for Hillary Clinton—“the devil herself”—and was accused of running a social experiment on residents. Through it all, I wore my work as a badge of honor, because I know myself to be someone who brings people together, not divides them.

I’ve always believed in facts, science, and reason—whether through my political science training or my time producing True Life: I Have Autism. The research is clear: Tylenol did not cause autism. Yet here we are again, with blame being pushed back onto women.

Ironically, I spent 10 years working alongside two conservative mayors without issue. But when the pandemic, George Floyd, and deep anger hit, it felt like the pendulum swung hard in the opposite direction—against equal rights, against women’s voices at the table. Was it really too much progress? Too much to ask that women be given space and respect? It’s impossible to reconcile when every person alive has been shaped by a mother, a sister, a daughter.

What worries me most is how belittling others—especially young people, our future leaders—has become a public tactic. Civil debate has been replaced with performance. Ego has overshadowed empathy. And somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten that every faith, every belief system at its core teaches dignity, understanding, and compassion.

So maybe the solution is simple: focus on what unites us, not what divides us. We can agree that women deserve an equal voice. We can agree that everyone should have the freedom to worship how they choose. We can agree that ideas should be debated without fear of violence or hatred. And we should all agree to trust experts to guide us in their fields, rather than turning science into politics.

At the end of the day, progress comes when we choose unity over division, listening over shouting, and truth over fear. That’s the work worth fighting for.

—Dana Berchman
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