Expressing Gratitude in Testing Times

November 24, 2025

As families and friends gather across the country to celebrate Thanksgiving, the team at Doctors of Democracy (DODO) takes a moment to pause and reflect on what we are thankful for.

Sarah John and the DODO Team

In times of disruption and change, DODO’s mission to preserve and strengthen American democracy can seem like a big ask. I am deeply grateful to be in this fight and to work with our wonderful team; their dedication truly makes DODO what it is.

Emily at the North Ireland Parliament

I am grateful for the rights to vote, organize and protest. Healthy democracies run on the work of organizers committed to lifting up community concerns and giving voice to the problems that their fellow citizens face. Candidates for local office and people committed to a cause connecting with others, coordinating, and making their voice heard through the vote inspires me always.

Emily Patton

Development Lead

The DODO team recently reflected on our gratitude this Thanksgiving. After expressing immense thanks for our family and friends, health, and pets (Eugene and Reno for the win!), we reflected on how lucky we are to live in a liberal democracy today.

Mary Lyons

Board Treasurer

I am grateful for family and diversity. I appreciate that a democracy invites its citizens to proactively participate in its upkeep and the ability of people to reach inside and pull out their best selves when it is needed. And I am rather fond of raptors!

I am also grateful for the rights to peaceful assembly and speech, which enable citizens to speak powerfully to the government. Although action may not immediately translate into reform, continued protests often do. We often take this right for granted, but according to the CIVCUS Monitor, approximately 40–45% of countries significantly restrict the right to peaceful assembly.

Our team is thankful for the freedom of citizens to participate in our democracy. This includes the ability to vote, organize, speak, and exercise the right to peaceful assembly and protest. These freedoms were hard-fought and require constant diligence to preserve.

I am grateful for legislatures! I also think the constitutions of Germany, France, Finland, Estonia, and South Korea are really cool.

I also feel lucky to have early voting and vote by mail. It's fun getting a Halloween Voter sticker in NYC with the witch pigeon.

Ian Holmes

Co-founder and Board Chair

We are also grateful for the commitment of the American people to democracy. Democracy demands a lot from citizens: they must be engaged, informed, and politically active. Citizens must appeal to the better angels of their nature and be willing to accept that people with whom they passionately disagree are legitimate participants in the political process. This can be difficult, especially in an age of hyper-partisanship and AI-generated rage bait. Yet, for the most part, and in impressive numbers, Americans live up to their civic duties: running as candidates, voting, attending protests, organizing, and volunteering on Election Day. These are not things we should ever take for granted.

Erica Frazier

Board Secretary

I'm thankful for my health. I'm able to do physical activities I enjoy.

I'm also thankful for the value democracy places on the free exchange of ideas.

Additionally, I'm grateful for our election administrators. It's a tiring, often thankless job, but it's one of the most foundational parts of our democracy.

Our team is also grateful for the constitutional structures designed to endure. We appreciate the checks and balance system and the decentralized, competitive nature of American governance. While this structure can sometimes be frustrating, it is essential because it protects minority voices.

I am grateful for democracy because it allows for the expression of different opinions and can convert them into something concrete: politicians who reflect their values and aspirations.

I am also grateful for our checks and balance system. Our founding fathers were wise to ensure that the three branches of government work both in tandem but also in competition. It is an enduring and resilient property of U.S. democracy, which prevents tyranny while also allowing for progress and reform.

Charlotte Dangel

2025 Intern

Sarah outside the Hungarian Parliament

What I take from our work this past year is a renewed appreciation for the resilience of US democracy. The democratic spirit is woven into the fabric of Americans of all political persuasions. Civic participation is everywhere. Over and over again, my heart is warmed by the willingness and enthusiasm of so many Americans to dedicate their time and efforts toward democratic enrichment.

I am particularly honored because I get to see the transformative power of civic participation often and up close. Just last month, a DODO volunteer who had been feeling isolated and pessimistic about the direction of the US regaled the DODO team with her story: Recently, she attended a protest. It was a peaceful, positive, and reaffirming experience—not at all as angry or demoralizing as she had feared. That moment of citizenship, connecting meaningfully with others in her community, provided her hope for the future and reminded her that social media is not real life.

Isn’t democracy wonderful?