Miracle on 22nd Street

This video has been everywhere the past few days, but in case you missed it during holiday time and because it’s just unbelievably beautiful, here it is again:

(I haven’t been able to find a transcript for the video. If you do find one please feel free to post it in the comments.)

The moment that gets me every time I watch this video comes towards the end when Jim and Dylan are discussing the pressure of having over 400 letters and being unable to respond to all of them. Dylan questions fulfilling any letters if they can’t fulfill them all, but Jim responds that that would be like saying the world has too many problems so they shouldn’t do anything about any of them. The response just destroys me: “You don’t think about it, you just give. And that’s always been your way, and I love that about you.”

I’d just given my sister a copy of Courtney’s book Do It Anyway for Christmas before first seeing this video, and the value in the book’s title is exactly what I see here. Jim and Dylan didn’t need to take on responsibility for these letters, but they did, and because of that hundreds of children, many of whom might not have gotten anything, woke up to presents from Santa on Christmas.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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