If only people really understood
This was poetic, and absolutely captured the feeling of the place. I too was about to panic in the dark when I stumbled upon the unMonastary.
The idea that we all seem to think that if the other guys just understood, then they would adopt our goal is interesting and definitely rings true. I’m wondering if we talked to the people on the other side of that, if they would feel the same way.
A couple of weeks ago I had a fascinating discussion along these lines. I, of course, think that addressing climate change is the one and only issue, and it trumps all the other issues without any contest. The very smart thoughtful young activist I was talking with, whose work is all about racial injustice and oppression was shocked at the way Naomi Klein had reframed climate to include all those other things, and now my friend was much more open to working on climate. I was shocked that she was shocked that they were connected (well duh, who did she think lived on those low-lying islands or was going to suffer the most from droughts); and also shocked that she thinks racial injustice trumps climate (everyone is going to die).
So in there, I think is the nub of going forward. We need to shape our arguments so that they make sense to the values and concerns of those who seemingly oppose it. AND we have to keep this framing constantly live, so that there isn’t slipping back in to old ways of thinking. It takes a lot of exposure to really change the way people think.
That is why if you can get lucky, like we did with Zipcar, it is great to not have to change people’s minds or behaviors, just appeal to their most obvious and immediate self interest. But that isn’t possible for all things.