Politics is annoying. It’s stressful. It’s argumentative and frustrating. It can be angry. So why do you do it? What’s driving you?

Why do you read political blogs? Why do you offer your opinions? Why do you share things on social media? Is it because there’s nothing better to do? (If so, we really need to talk about expanding your horizons.)

You know why? Because you care about this. You’re interested by it, you care what happens, and it affects you.

That’s why we write about politics, too, here at RedState. A lot of you don’t know, but for most of this website’s life everyone here except for Erick was simply an unpaid volunteer. Over the last couple of years the enterprise has expanded and people have expanded into bigger roles with it, but the spirit of volunteerism remains. You see it in our thriving community of diarists and commenters. You know it from the dialog we share with one another online. And you can see it at the RedState Gathering.

Along with Erick, I and my wife organized the first several RedState Gatherings personally. As volunteers. It was a small operation that first year, with several speakers no one had heard of, like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Nikki Haley. They’ve grown a bit since then too, you may have noticed. But they were there looking to be of service, to be elected to serve, and to speak to those whom they would serve. They gave talks. They mixed and mingled. A lot of other speakers, too, including Liz Cheney, who really fired up the crowd.

There have been some other pretty memorable ones, too.

The front page writers and the diarists met and talked with the candidates and lawmakers. Ideas were exchanged. Volunteers were organized. Fundraisers were held. Now look at where we are.

The Gathering is bigger, now. You see a lot more of Townhall’s stamp on it. But it doesn’t change the spirit of why we are there. Sometimes you have to remind yourself why you’re doing this. You have to remember that there are others who are doing it as well, who share your values and ideas, even if you disagree on specifics. In 2016 I can’t say that’s what makes a political party. But I can tell you this: it’s what makes a community.

We have fancy videos and we have testimonials and we have discounts and sales pitches. But that’s all business and it’s not personal. I’m here to tell you, to ask you, to remember. Come to the RedState Gathering. Shake someone’s hand. Speak your piece. Debate. Agree. Eat. Drink. Be merry. Be committed.

This is still all about what the future has in store for America. None of us knows it for sure, but if you come to the RedState Gathering you’ll have hope. And one thing you will know for sure is this: you have allies.

We’re one month out, today. Won’t you come join us? I promise you’ll like it. And if you don’t, you can punch Bill S. in the arm while I point and laugh.

Register here, now. Remind yourself why you’re part of this crazy thing. Here’s The Man’s pitch:

It’s hard to believe, but the RedState Gathering is just one month away. We have already lined up a great slate of speakers including Rick Perry, Carly Fiorina, Greg Abbott, Hugh Hewitt and Ken Buck, and we are going to have some excellent activism training as well. And oh yeah, the old boss (Erick) will be there as well.