I’m a big believer in praising community when I see it, whether that’s in eastern Oklahoma or southern Louisiana or—and how many authors have the privilege of saying this?—in the combox. The readers of this blog don’t just talk the talk (though you do that well, in emails and letters and comments alike). You participate. You’re working to build a better society, one parish dinner, one community outreach, one neighborhood festival, one box of cookies at a time. There’s no place on the Internet like this, and I’m grateful to be the steward of it.

You may know that yesterday The American Conservative kicked off our spring membership drive. We’re hoping to recruit 100 new members of TAC over the next two weeks, and I’d like to invite you to be one of them. Members of TAC do receive some special perks—a complimentary subscription or extension, plus invitations to meetups around the country and member-only content—but they also have the satisfaction of knowing they are directly making this community of readers possible.

As a nonprofit, TAC relies exclusively on the generosity and involvement of readers like you. That’s what makes this magazine the most interesting place to be on the right: unlike many other organizations that call themselves conservative, we don’t consider ourselves a paid-for propaganda sheet for a political party, nor do we mold our principles according to the whims of the deep-pocketed. Instead, we aim to be an honest, creative minority, and we invite our readers to be a part of what we do. Ultimately, it’s your support that keeps us going—and it’s also what helps us keep the lights on.

Becoming a member of TAC is a way of investing in a smarter, more practical future for American conservatism in general and for the religious right in particular. There has never been a more urgent and appropriate time to invest in this community. Please become a member of TAC by making your tax-deductible gift today.