—Systemic change begins with personal change—
From Rob's web page:
I am a seasoned political online commentator with over 20 years of experience in banking and journalism. Prior to entering the financial sector, I worked as a journalist for a major daily newspaper in Northwest Arkansas with a readership of several hundred thousand. I have relied on my analytical and communication skills honed as a journalist to aid me as a successful communicator in the financial industry.
My political commentary and social articles have been featured on CNN, CNN Ireport, The HuffingtonPost, The Tribune, PRNews Channel and eFinancialCareers.
I am an avid blogger and created the political blog, "Smell The Political Coffee" at www.andwearenotsaved.blogspot.com. Currently, I serve as president and founder of the Multicultural Conservative Foundation, whose mission is to educate and bring awareness to conservative principles through social media.
Social media poet and writer. Ordained Minister with the Universal Life Church Ministries.
Former Vice President at Deutsche Bank, Citi Private Bank
Compliance Consultant at Lloyds Bank, JP Morgan Chase, ICAP, Credit Suisse
From Rob's Twitter profile:
Our second recorded conversation covered Rob's experience with separating his recycling. The first time we met we meant to record but ended up speaking for three hours, partly meeting as person-to-person and also talking about what people in this country with differing political views probably used to but don't any more. We also ate my famous no-packaging vegetable stew---a delicious way to minimize polluting. The second time we recorded, but also spoke a good hour first. In other words, despite Rob supporting Donald Trump and my opposing, we're communicating a lot---in the style of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. We don't plan to keep talking unrecorded, but we start and next thing you know we've covered a lot. As you'll hear at the end of this conversation, we're talking about continuing our conversation in other media. Since recording, those conversations have happened, covering issues only comedians do, but seriously. Check out my blog for those conversations. I find it refreshing to continue to learn his perspective and to air out a few views. I hope to learn how to help conservatives who value clean air, land, and water but who don't live by those values following my model for leadership---to help people do what they wanted to but haven't figured out how. I'm curious where his environmental challenge will go. He may stop, but I suspect something will linger.
Most people will find my conversation with Rob unexpected, but talking with someone with his experience and views has long been one of my goals. People keep associating the environment with the political left, but everyone wants clean air, land, and water. Regular listeners know Rob from my appearing in a video episode, A Different Look At Climate Change, at Magamedia.org---MAGA as in Trump's Make America Great Again. Rob supports Trump enthusiastically. In New York City, identifying oneself out of the mainstream reads of a heartfelt deliberate decision. I dislike what I see as the left's coopting the environment as a wedge issue. I don't see trying to beat the right as working. I also don't see combining the environment with things the right dislikes as effective, especially given Trump winning the last presidential election and his environmental views and actions. If you think the quote I started this episode with of Rob describing the effect of Al Gore's personal behavior on the right is unfair or irrelevant, I suggest that you're missing that leadership means understanding what motivates those you want to lead. To learn their beliefs and views. For context, I recommend listening to my episode describing how we met, episode 266: Thoughts in my MAGA interview, and my appearance in his show. It's a long conversation, but if you value people you wouldn't expect to communicate learning and sharing with each other, you'll love this episode. Rob shared a lot of conservatives' motivations around the environment. He also shared some personal environmental values and is acting on them---not because I told him facts, figures, doom, gloom, or to think of the children or other ways I hear people frankly as I see it bludgeoning others to comply. I can't wait to keep talking more and to hear his results. Actually, I can't wait to collaborate more if we can. Partly I want to keep learning perspectives I don't know, as much as everyone I know who works on the environment hates Trump. I hope this conversation starts a collaboration to help conservatives enjoy acting on the environment, to share their actions from joy not coercion. I hope to help make environmental action and legislation as non-partisan as traffic.