Recently, Joyce over at Tall Grass Worship, wrote a post regarding her personal position in this crucial and historical election. I was so impressed that Joyce took the plunge and put her toe into some unknown territory. But even before Joyce wrote her post, I have been struggling with my own desire to tread in these waters. My holdup was that I didn’t want to come across as ‘political’ because I really don’t consider myself to be big on politics. So why jump off the diving board now? Green Bean posted a comment to Joyce’s post asking about the overall beliefs of those who are conservative (aka Republican) and their stance on many of this years political issues including environmentalism. Her comment about not knowing anyone that held similar beliefs was a little surprising for me - I certainly know many people on both sides of the political fence and some that straddle that fence on many issues (many in my own family). But I was thrilled that GB wanted to know more and to really understand how conservatives could also be environmentalists (by the way, both GB and TGW have beautiful blogs and I encourage others to read). So that prompted my own comment that went into many of the issues that this election year covers and the questions that GB had asked. But my comment was so long that I feared I would crash Joyce’s blog so I decided to write my own posts regarding my stance on certain policies. So here is my first run at it and this one only covers how conservatives can also be environmentalists despite the perception of our green friends on the more liberal side of politics.
I have been registered as a Republican all of my life but I certainly haven’t always voted a straight party ticket. Party affiliation for a lot of people stems from the local politics. By being registered as a Republican in the community where I was born and raised, I was able to vote in all of the local elections - otherwise, I wouldn’t have much option in local elections. I think this is true of many communities. But, I have always, like most, selected the person who I thought could do the best job and that often meant crossing party lines. Honestly, since I vote for whoever I agree with on the issues and not for any particular party, I have always considered myself something of an Independent. That being said, I want to talk in detail about the misconception among environmentalists that conservatives and, therefore, Republicans, must NOT be green and have no concern for their environment.
The fact of the matter is most conservatives do care about the world that they live in. I know many that practice green living just as I know many liberals who do not. Most conservatives have a religious foundation (though not always) that instills in them the responsibility to care, not only for the people around us, but for the world that we live in. It seems pretty basic to me and I believe that most people in this country want to protect the environment (of course, there are always those that just don’t care but I do not think that is party specific). However, many people in this country are in situations where the choice of feeding their families, getting to work, etc. reign supreme over the environment. It is very sad but true. I will be going into more detail on these specific issues in future posts.
For me personally, I have been ‘going green’ for several years now but it has become a very major part of my life over the last 18 months or so. But, I have always cared for and appreciated my environment. I grew up in a beautiful part of the country that has been subjected to massive tourism. That tourism has increased the amount of land cleared to make way for housing and shops that support the influx of part-time residents and tourists. It is disgusting to me to see the mountainsides in my hometown destroyed. On the other hand, this ‘progress’ has brought jobs to the community and has improved the lives of many people living there. It was a rural place with many people living well below the poverty line - now it is an area battered by the scars of development but the unemployment rate has dropped significantly over the years and many of those families that were once suffering financially are now living much better lives. What is the right answer? I can see both sides of the argument but hope that we can somehow, find other ways to grow the community without continued destruction of the landscape (which has other negative consequences on the environment - not just esthetics).
I know that there are many, many conservative people, especially Christians, who are strong on protecting the environment. However, I also know many Republicans (especially those on the political front) that have turned a deaf ear to the concerns and the real issues of our environment. I believe there are many reasons for this including lack of knowledge on how to make ‘things happen’, grow jobs, etc. by doing something that might be more beneficial for the environment. This fear has led to many politicians lack of willingness to listen, and has given all conservatives (democrat, republican, and others) a bad reputation with environmentalists.
In these posts, I will try to explain why I believe the conservative presidential candidates are the best choice in this election. This is based on my own beliefs and is in no way meant to be disrespectful to anyone. I am not trying to change anyone’s own political decisions. I am just attempting to explain the conservative environmentalists’ point of view (and I do not believe that is an oxymoron). I will not be addressing the other candidates in any negative way. I truly believe that both tickets have good people who want to serve and do what is best in their minds. And what a wonderful time for all of us - we are either going to have the first African-American President or the first female Vice President (sad that it has taken us so long to get to this point)! This is truly a history making election!
So for the Republican ticket: I believe that John McCain does care about the environment and more so than any other conservative political official. Many will disagree because of his desire to drill which I will address in another post. I have read his plan on climate change and I am convinced that McCain is committed to reducing green house emissions, developing clean and renewable energy sources, and to work with other world leaders to drive environmental improvement globally. The details of his plan are included on his website. I think that Sarah Palin cares about the environment as well even though the media has touted her to be a gun-toting, animal killing, right winger. She seems to love the environment and be a real outdoors type of person (and, in general, most people who love the outdoors, want to take care of it). I find the fact that the woman hunts her own food to be of particular interest in this election. Many environmentalists are staunch supporters of raising your own food (both vegetable and meat). Why is there such animosity toward this woman because she hunts wild game? Both my brother and brother-in-law are hunters - deer and turkey. I must confess that I and my family have benefited from their success in the woods. And it was really nice to know that the food on my table provided by their efforts, was not from a mass production facility or raised with very unhealthy chemicals of any kind. Isn’t that part of being ‘green’? Even if you aren’t a vegetarian? I understand that there are many, many liberals who don’t just dislike this woman but I am struggling to understand exactly why. We all disagree on many things even within our own parties, social circles, and families. And disagreeing is fine. But why is there so much hatred for this woman? Even from women who consider themselves progressive. I hope to address this situation in later posts but my main focus will be on the issues and my perspective of where conservatives stand on many issues important to all of us.
I also think that McCain/Palin have some hard choices to make (as do ALL of us) that may not fall into line with their environmental concerns or with the concerns of environmentalists (see upcoming posts for details). I do not agree that Republicans, in general, are not ‘green’. Although I am a registered republican I am a lot ‘greener’ than many of my non-republican friends. Being ‘green’ isn’t about party – it is about caring for our environment and leaving this world in better shape than we found it! I use cloth wipes, cloth napkins, cloth for almost everything (still working on hubby to give up the TP but no luck so far). We use bar soap/shampoo, recycle everything, compost all of our scraps, grow a garden (though not very productive), shop for local produce and meat even if it means higher prices, keep our thermostat high in the summer and low in the winter, make most of our foods from scratch, air-day our laundry, shower/bathe as needed (and no, we don’t have BO), and drive only when necessary. But that doesn’t make me better than any other person that cares for our environment. Being green, going green, is a process. A journey that we are all on to leave this world in better shape than we found it. In politics, that is a fine balance - doing what is best for the people NOW as opposed to what is best for the environment (and the people) long term. People who are hurting don’t see the environment as their number one concern, and, as a result, neither do their leaders.
We who live in this country are truly affluent compared to many other people in this world. But, many of us don’t see it that way. We live with blinders on and can only see our circumstances and how we are personally affected at this moment in time by anything and everything. Looking down the road at the cost of climate change isn’t very important when you are trying to figure out how to get food on the table for your family. Yes, it should be. But that is not the reality. The same is true in many developing countries where forests are being obliterated for the sake of jobs, progress, and money. It is nothing less than sad.
I hope that those who read this post will not be offended in any way. Yes, I agree that there are better answers to our problems that wouldn’t be so negative for our environment than those that are on the table right now. I also agree that there are many big corporations that are lobbying for their own bank accounts and those practices and behaviors have to stop for us to make any progress on the environment or anything else.
Ultimately, I hope that I have given some insight into the fact that there are conservative environmentalists. How we vote, as for many, is not just based on one issue (though one issues may be the deciding factor for many of us) but the cumulative mass of issues that we are facing. And yes, the environment is very important to me as well as to many other conservatives in this country. But there are other factors that I must consider when I cast my vote and I hope that everyone will be open to all of the issues and not vote for a candidate based on one factor alone, because, I believe, they are all related to each other and each has an impact on the other in the long run.
Regardless of my personal opinions, I have great respect for my liberal, green friends. We all want to same thing we might just see a different path to the same destination.
Tags: Eat Local, Green Living, Politics, Simple and Green, Voting, nature // 16 Comments »
