Normalize changing your mind

As we transition to a new presidential administration and a new Congress, I'm thinking about the idea of the circumstances of advocacy changing. 

It's time to kick off the decade of the Green New Deal, time to strengthen global solidarity and decolonize  global health. This is reason enough to sit down and actually have conversations with each other, even the tough ones. It's also time to continue/resume person reflections.

How about changing your mind on a political issue?

A painting my friend made at our Sunrise launch party


For example, over the past year I wondered if I still maintain that climate action has to be bipartisan. Of course, I'd like it to be! But I don't see Republicans taking the climate crisis seriously. We barely see some  Democrats willing to tackle climate justice at the scale we need, based on the science of climate change, the way it intersects with racism and economic inequality, and the urgency of the political moment.

This letter to the editor I wrote in 2019 asserted, "For a climate change solution to be effective — and enacted in the first place — it will have to be bipartisan." At the time, I felt like that was important because I had seen global health legislation passed year after year only because it was bipartisan. If we had a maternal/child health bill, we were so careful to make sure we had a pair of Senators or Representatives enter as cosponsors together so that Democrats and Republicans were as balanced as possible.

I wrote that sentence about bipartisanship before I learned about the Green New Deal and before I joined the Sunrise Movement.

Do I agree with that first sentence today? ... Not really.

The Democratic party now controls the White House, with the ability to tackle climate change through executive action. I wouldn't ever argue that the Biden administration should tone down their approach for the sake of appeasing the Republican party.

Democrats also control the House and the Senate, and I don't have a problem with them using all their influence to pass climate legislation, reduce poverty, and support marginalized communities. In fact, I would encourage it. Go ahead and abolish the filibuster! Just get it done.

Now that I know more about what's in the Green New Deal vision and why it needs to be there, I would urge Democrats to shoot as high as possible instead of settling for a watered-down, ineffective compromise.

So, no. I don't think it's necessary for climate action to be a happy medium between Leftist, Liberal, and Conservative views in order to be effective and get passed. If all these parties could agree that we need to prioritize climate and racial justice, that would be awesome! I do like the idea of working together when we can, and other issues I care about like funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance have enjoyed bipartisan support for years, so that's probably why I'm having trouble letting go of the (admittedly over-optimistic) idea that bipartisanship is always totally possible and will solve all of our problems in a timely manner.

I changed my mind on a political issue. It's not the only time that's happened; just one that I felt comfortable writing about at the moment and specific enough that I can summarize most of that thought process in one short blog post.

It feels pretty weird to be publishing this for everyone to see. These days, it's like we have to have a permanent opinion on everything and be able to hold our own in a debate at any moment. (And I mean everyday life, not just the expected in-class debates of History and English Zooms.) I just wanted to give this example to help normalize changing your mind, or at least being open to the idea that maybe you didn't have it all figured out before, and still don't. I think that's okay. Advocates need to know that's okay, particularly kids and teens because a lot of us are still active with the first organization or campaign we ever joined.

I encourage everyone, as a call to action, to reflect on our capacity to change our minds when we listen to each other. Try to see things from someone else's point of view. Also, know when to stand firm for what you believe in!

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