I’m grateful for you

By Sarah Cheng @ 2024-11-28T16:36 (+146)

I recently wrote up some EA Forum-related strategy docs for a CEA team retreat, which meant I spent a bunch of time reflecting on the Forum and why I think it’s worth my time to work on it. Since it's Thanksgiving here in the US, I wanted to share some of the gratitude that I felt. 🙂

I strongly believe in the principles of EA. I’ve been doing effective giving for about a decade now. But before joining CEA in 2021, I had barely used the Forum, and I had no other people in my life who identified with EA in the slightest.

Most of the people that I know, have worked with, or have interacted with are not EA. When I bring up EA to people in my personal life, they are usually not that interested, or are quite cynical about the idea, or they just want to talk about their own existing beliefs about what’s wrong with the world. Even when the conversation goes to specific issues they care about, I find that it’s rare for people to be donating money towards addressing those issues.

Before I joined CEA and met people in the EA community, this was pretty normal to me. Now when this happens, I find it sad. But it makes me extra grateful for you.

I think it’s really special that people from around the world come to the Forum because they seriously care about doing good better. There are so many other things you could be spending your time on, and you chose to spend it here with us, learning about and discussing this relatively niche topic because it matters to you. I feel grateful that you are here with us, because you really want to do good.

I especially appreciate the people who write on the Forum — you make this community what it is, you set an example for others, and you influence how thousands of readers relate to EA. Thank you for being extreme nerds about everything from moral philosophy to practical research to optimal donation strategies, for being truth-seeking and disagreeing with each other productively and kindly, for being open-minded and taking unusual ideas seriously, and for taking concrete steps to try to have a positive impact (even if you don’t succeed). You inspire me to do my best to help the Forum live up to its potential, and you give me hope that we can build a radically better world.

Thank you for being here, being part of this community, and genuinely caring about making the world better.