This is an essay I wrote for a job I hope to get. The topic is how to expand the progressive movement to those who do not currently trust any “special interests.”
I have grown up in a nation plagued with partisan politics. My two-party nation is creating a two-party society, a country of us vs. them. While this is a generalization, it is a trend that is impossible to ignore.
The best way to respond to this mentality is to diagnose it. We must ask of our opponents, what is the person battling, and why do they oppose it. In short, any organization, Environment Indiana for example, must recognize their opposition not only in name but in beliefs. Environment Indiana must realize the fears that build the distrust of their opposition. Once the fears are realized, we can successfully begin a campaign based on those fears, and find answers to them.
Discovering them should be easy. It is what they say under their breath as they walk away from signature gatherers in the mall. It is what you overhear on the bus to work between an angry man and his friend. It is all over Fox News. The fears are easy to find, but their responses must be subtle, and must be honest.
In my experience, there are certain major fears that rise again and again in the minds of those less-inclined to support progressive movements. There are dozens of these fears, and certainly they vary with each individual and area. Many people are just tired of being asked for money. Some people hate the term “progressive” in itself. But one of the biggest issues for the opposition, especially with the environmental movement, is a fear of regulation’s effect on jobs and lifestyle.
This is the first issue to address for Environment Indiana. Anyone who holds this fear holds a fear of the group itself, and cannot be reached until we alleviate their distrust.
The fear of a fallout from regulation can be dealt with in much the same way as any problem at the heart of someone’s distrust of the progressive environmental movement. Environment Indiana must reach out in a personal manner, and must show some cohesion in goals. Basically, Environment Indiana must reach out through personalization and patriotism.
It is difficult to argue that increased regulation or EPA standards does not cost business more – money they can save by moving operations overseas. In answering this fear, dodging the issue of cost will only empower the opposition to distrust us more. If it costs more, be honest. Do not immediately jump into blaming the business for moving overseas. This will only come off as an attack on capitalism.
What Environment Indiana must do is instead focus on the goals of this regulation. In short, get personal. If Environment Indiana is canvassing at a mall, they must speak to their potential signatories like friends. It seems easy. It is the first rule of signature-gathering, but it goes much further than being polite.
It means seeing a mother pushing a stroller and politely stopping her to have a conversation about pollution in the local stretch of the Ohio River. How does this problem affect her family? How will this regulation solve this problem of which she may not even be aware? It does not mean telling the mother that Indiana water is 11 percent higher than the national total in toxic water according to the EPA. Statistics are great for signs and reports, but they are not personal. It means talking to her about how a new budget with a proposed $5 million program for cleaning up the stretch of river will result in cleaner water to mix with her child’s milk.
While you are talking to this mother, be proud of Indiana. It may not have a lot of green space, but it is your green space, and it is hers too. Patriotism is missing in much of the progressive movements I have been around. That is the basis of the distaste for the progressive label. What’s wrong with our country (or state)? Who hates us so much they want to change us?
Talking about all the drastic changes and problems turns people off in the most basic way. It is an insult to their way of life, and honestly its a drag that people don’t want to think about. These are basic self-preservation tactics in people and should not be under attack. Instead, a successful progressive must show the love the movement intends. It isn’t that Indiana’s stretch of the Ohio is so much less amazing than Ohio’s portion or (even worse) some river in France. It means Indiana, and the baby in the stroller deserve more.
The opposition I have experienced most in my life revolves around my being painted as the enemy. I’m making fun of someone’s way of life, judging it and finding it lacking. It doesn’t matter that my demeanor has never intended this, but it is the vibe “special interests” give off far too often. Instead, I’ve learned to talk to each person as just that, an individual person. I’ve learned to assert my movements as public interest, not special interests.
Don’t keep lists of facts you rattle off, because odds are the person you are talking to right now does not care or cannot adequately picture those numbers. It sounds simple but talking to them in their (for lack of a better word) language has made all the difference. Being able to tailor your pitch to an individual is key. If they are wearing a flag t-shirt, they care about their country, so tell them how they can help it. If their son is a boy scout, tell them about his earning his fishing badge in infested waters. These things matter, even to the least progressive person in the world.
Environment Indiana must find what matters most and use that to fight the seeds of distrust in potential supporters. Through personalization and patriotism, you win the trust and acceptance of those you wish to support you. This idea of positivity and concentration on story over facts can work well in social media, hand outs or in person, creating a cohesive message for any level of activism.
