I spoke to my father in the months leading to last November’s election. He lives in Pennsylvania, a state that could have gone either way. He was concerned about the outcome. I suggested speaking to people who might vote differently than him to influence them. He wouldn’t. He would only speak to people who were voting his way.

It’s easier not to face conflict, let alone resolve it, at least in the moment, but if you want to lead or just influence outcomes and can’t speak to people who disagree with you, you won’t likely change much. You’re stuck with what you get.

Can you influence or lead people who disagree with you? Can you listen to them? Can you communicate so they listen to you? Is your idea of the best you can do to convince people?

Conservatives and the Environment

It’s easy to conclude conservatives don’t care about the environment, value it less than business, and don’t understand science. If you see things that way, you won’t get far with them. You’ll sound to them ignorant and as if you don’t understand them. Say goodbye to influencing them.

What if they do care about the environment? What if looking at the world through their eyes led you learn new things?

I’ve learned as much from people others might call climate deniers as from environmentalists. I haven’t seen many environmentalists influence polluters. For that matter, I’ve met few environmentalists pollute less than the average person around them. They’ll excuse themselves from being the change they want to see with various justifications, missing that leading others is more effective than any individual action, but we can’t lead others to live by values we don’t live by ourselves. Leadership is key. Lack of personal leadership or action undermines credibility. I don’t act and then stop. I act and then accelerate.

I’ve written and spoken many times on effective communication with conservatives. While I find a lot of their behavior lowers Earth’s ability to sustain life, I don’t see them as any more human or less. I find all people passionate about the environment.

I recently spoke on After Dark on the America Out Loud platform, hosted by podcast guest Rob and soon-to-be-podcast guest Andrew on sustainability. They posted the conversation, titling it Living By Your Values Is Freedom, which I agree with and suspect appeals to their audience.

I like the results. What do you think?

Show notes

Can you go a day or a month without producing garbage? Can you go without eating package foods? Can you do 165,000 plus burpees? Is it even possible? Well, Josh Spodek, the host of Sustainable Life, tells “After Dark With Rob and Andrew” that it is possible when you live by your values. Living by one’s values is one of the premises behind his Sustainable Life Podcast. It includes being aware of one’s environment and its impact on it by the choices you make and the things you do. Some would say it’s another form of environmentalism, but Josh views it differently. He explains that he isn’t trying to get people to do anything they don’t want to do or aren’t concerned about.

However, who wouldn’t be concerned about the water they drink, the food they eat, or the environment? Putting it all together, you are aware of how you are living and how it impacts the world we all live in. Josh says he has “found joy, fun, freedom, community connection, family meaning and purpose…” in living by his values.

Hosts: Rob and Andrew

Rob is founder of The Multicultural Conservative Foundation whose mission is to promote the political diversity of conservatism through social media. He has been interviewed by many independent news organizations regarding his views on black conservatism. In addition to writing and blogging, he is the author of a self-help book “That Job Just Isn’t Into You: Starting Over When It’s Over.”

Andrew is a social media pundit, writer, and podcast host. He believes in traditional Conservative values, including the right to free speech, America First, limited government, and the Bible.

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