Marty's Notebook
Hi all,
In every generation of advocacy, there comes a moment when the old tools no longer fit the work ahead. We have mastered the art of resistance, mobilizing, messaging, and winning short-term fights. Yet those same habits now strain the very systems we depend on. The muscles of our democracy are strong, but the ligaments that hold them together are frayed.
Across every issue, we see the effects of what Netcentric Campaigns has termed civic pollution: the fraying of our collective sense-making, empathy, and cooperation that once helped turn disagreement into decision. What we need now is not more muscle but better motion.
Reorganizing advocacy means focusing on the connective tissue, the networks of people who can metabolize conflict, share learning, and keep our civic body functional under stress.
This is not a call to stop fighting for justice. It is an invitation to fight differently, with connection as the measure of progress. When advocates build bridges instead of battle lines, they restore the civic immune system that makes long-term repair possible.
Our future depends on learning that discipline together.
Peace,
Marty Kearns
Deep Dive Insight
Reorganizing Advocacy for Repair
Traditional advocacy often rewards opposition over connection. But what if progress depended on cooperation instead?
Our latest blog post explores how advocates can move from adversarial habits to adaptive networks that metabolize conflict and rebuild civic health.
It offers practical examples of how collaboration, not combat, can become a source of strength.
Read the full article and see how your network can take the first steps toward advocacy without adversary.
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Featured Resource
A Practical Trust-Building Framework
In a climate of distrust and disruption, The Trust Playbook gives leaders a clear seven-step path to build connection and momentum.
Grounded in research and case studies, it helps teams sharpen focus, listen to learn, address misperceptions, and engage unlikely allies.
Each step includes practical questions to plan real conversations, convene communities, and point to problem solvers.
Use it to turn values into habits that strengthen your network and move people from division to action.
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Answers from the Field
Addressing pressing questions from our networks
Q:
“My network has become all conflict and no connection. How do we start to change that?”
A:
Start by remembering that conflict itself is not the problem. The real damage comes when disagreement stops leading anywhere. Healthy networks turn tension into learning. They find ways to metabolize conflict instead of letting it harden into mistrust.
Three small shifts can start to change the pattern:
- Name the problem. Talk openly about how polarization is showing up inside your network. Avoid blame, and frame it as a shared challenge.
- Rebuild trust in low-stakes spaces. Create opportunities for members to collaborate on something small and tangible. Success at a smaller scale helps rebuild confidence in working together.
- Measure connection, not just activity. Track whether people are talking across divides, sharing knowledge, or showing up for each other between campaigns. Those patterns reveal the health of the network far better than attendance counts or petition numbers.
Repairing connection is slow work, but it is the foundation for every other kind of progress. Networks that invest in relationships do not avoid conflict; they grow strong enough to work through it.
Emerging Trends and Critical Insights
Moving Past the Fault Lines of Yesterday
The old divides of American politics, for example: rural versus urban, red versus blue, and secular versus religious no longer explain how change happens. They keep advocacy trapped in the logic of opposition.
Today’s real alignments form along new lines of regeneration versus extraction, participation versus marginalization, and connection versus isolation.
This new article explores how advocates can reorganize around shared civic functions instead of partisan identities.
The goal is not moderation but reconstruction, building the civic ligaments that let democracy move again.
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Updates from Our Partner Networks
Driving Change in Communities Around the World
Halt the Harm Network: Truckers and Environmentalists in Conversation
Halt the Harm Network is convening a new partnership between truckers, environmental advocates, and public health leaders to address shared health and pollution challenges. The Truckers Convergence brings together 20 participants meeting biweekly to explore how labor and environmental movements can collaborate more effectively.
Their work will culminate on December 8 with a public webinar highlighting lessons from the field and opportunities for continued partnership. From the truck cabin to the fence line, this effort shows how networks can turn common exposure into common cause. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for details.
Learn More About The Halt The Harm Network
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WASHDesk in Ahafo, Ghana: Network in Action
Over the past 18 months, WASHDesk has mobilized more than 41,000 residents across six districts into the Nsuo Ne Nkwa (“Water is Life”) network. Members receive regular SMS updates on handwashing, menstrual health, and cholera prevention, turning information into everyday action.
WASH teams have also led over 100 community events in schools, hospitals, markets, and faith centers, reaching more than 3 million people through radio, TV, and print. It is a powerful example of local leadership and coordinated public health in motion.
Learn More About the WashDesk Program
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What Are You Working to Rebuild?
Each edition of Network Navigator grows from your experiences in the field. What bridges are you building, and what new collaborations are helping you move past old divides?
Hit reply to share what you are seeing. We read every message and often feature reader insights in future editions.
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