I have a little bit of back-tracking to do today, as Tuesday kept me busy from 5:15 a.m. until 1 o'clock this morning.Let's start with Sunday!
Sunday started early, with a welcome from Mark Reynolds and Marshall Saunders the two that started CCL to begin with in 2007. A few other people on the staff talked and then Bob Inglis, a well-known Republican, gave a really interesting speech about how Republicans think, what terms to avoid, and how to really grab their attention. Fascinating stuff! I had no idea that mentioning something about polar bears would be a red flag and immediately lose your audience. There is much for a lobbyist to know about terminology.
The Millennials Group had a lunch as well, where about 20 of us "below 35-year-olds" got together to discuss the issues with getting the attention of younger folks, and why the demographic of CCL is the way it is. Before someone had actually mentioned it, I had not even noticed, but then afterwards it was all I could think about, making me quite ashamed that we hadn't worked harder on the issue before. Where were the black people in our group? The Hispanics? The Asians? Almost 98% of the group is old white folks. The exceptions are the young people, and even then, it seemed as though we were all upper crust kids that were at least in college or had recently graduated with some degree.
It was in this moment that I was starting to get the idea of what I really want to be doing with my life and my career. I don't want to work in a place where the demographic is so homogeneous. I want to constantly be learning about the cultures of the people around me, and the language too. That's what really excites me: Travel, language, and the culture that comes with it.
That being said, there were a couple of break-out sessions after lunch that gave me much to ponder. One of them was about Environmental Justice, and the other discussed Latinos and climate change. As it turns out, Latinos are really not new to the idea of supporting climate change through policy, and really believe that it's the government's job to set better standards for our health and the planet. For other minorities, there is a disproportionate amount of harmful materials (whether in the air, water supply, or even food) exposed to their neighborhoods because they don't have the kind of political representation or community unity to stand up for their health. It's really sad to know that this happens every day, in every country.
I want to be on the ground, talking to these people. I'd love to be the voice for others who don't know how to articulate themselves in a way that is really effective, or who don't know where to start when wanting to make a change. That seems much more satisfying to me than sitting in congressional offices learning the right terminology to possibly sway someone to the other side. It's so "manipulative", as a friend told me last night, and I completely agree! For some, politics is exciting and stimulating and rewarding and everything they've ever wanted to do.
But Tuesday was a whole other story. I was shocked at myself for what I felt after all of my meetings. I mean, the morning started off well, with two going very smoothly and reflecting the hard work that we had put into knowing our facts and having an answer to most of the questions. But then the afternoon came, and I felt embarrassed after leaving the office of a staffer. It seemed as though the others were following a script that they had been taught (and maybe that's the way a lot of people have interpreted CCL's methodology), and people were asking the representative to introduce legislation before they even knew what a carbon tax was! I just wanted to make the others stop talking so that the staffer could actually say something, and us not be shoving facts down his throat. How many other meetings went the same way? And what was going through their minds when asking questions like that? How many volunteers do we have that firmly believe carbon fee and dividend is THE SOLUTION and just follow a meeting outline to a T?
Later, as we waited outside the office of another staffer, a man came into the office with straightened hair and expensive sunglasses, surely designer jeans and a nice t-shirt. He flipped his bangs to the side and was later escorted to "The Gallery", and it just made me so repulsed. This may be the young, inexperienced, judgemental side of me coming out, but I just got the sense that there are many people like this man in Washington, who have had everything from the beginning, or have gone into the field of politics knowing the back doors and having the connections to get stuff done even though it's unethical or unsound in some way. For this reason, I knew that I had to get out of there, and fast. I just couldn't take being surrounded by all these affluent people in suits and ties, expensive shoes and sunglasses, briefcases and purses. I'd just be critical of everyone all the time if I continued to return to Capitol Hill or other congressional offices. And I don't like feeling that way! I want to be the kind, creative, and enthusiastic person I know myself to be, and putting myself in a position to lobby would just make a monster out of me.
All negativity aside, I have to take something positive away from these four days in D.C. 1) I don't want to live in a big city where the traffic is so bad and it takes me an hour to get from my house to work 2) Politics is not for me and I'm not going to continue with the lobby route because I don't want to be critical of others all the time 3) Riding the Metro Rail is the COOLEST THING EVER 4) Joining groups like these and learning from the inside will save me a lot of money in college if I continue to seek out opportunities to explore my interests. Who knows? I could have been a political science major, or have wanted to work in environmental law, but now I know that it's NOT for me, which is fantastic! I can cross that off of my list of career moves. 5) I understand a lot more about the intricacies of communication, especially how a single word can write you off in an instant 6) Citizens Climate Lobby has given me so many connections to people across the country that are concerned with the environment and have really encouraged me to continue my pursuit of changing the world.
In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone for their support in this endeavor. It has obviously had a big impact on me and it wouldn't have been possible without many generous donations of my Lawrence comrades. I have decided to volunteer for Plymouth Congregational Church working with their Spanish Language Program in hopes of finding a way to redirect my volunteering hours. I have a good feeling about it!
Last but not least, the few photos you've been waiting for:
This was a ways away from the Omni Shorham Hotel, where our conference was held. I had dinner at a lovely Greek restaurant from Michigan!
How cool to have plants growing along the sides of the escalators down to the Metro!
I'm seriously obsessed with the idea of having something like this in Lawrence. How nice would a light rail be?! We could get one running the strip of 6th street and another on 23rd street or Iowa.
Tuesday morning!
That's me in the brown halter shirt and sunglasses!
I talked to this man about his little solar set up. He was using energy from the sun to power his laptop. Up-front cost of about $300 on Amazon for the foldable solar panels, and costs about 3 cents per hour to operate. Pretty impressive, eh? I thought so!
Sunday started early, with a welcome from Mark Reynolds and Marshall Saunders the two that started CCL to begin with in 2007. A few other people on the staff talked and then Bob Inglis, a well-known Republican, gave a really interesting speech about how Republicans think, what terms to avoid, and how to really grab their attention. Fascinating stuff! I had no idea that mentioning something about polar bears would be a red flag and immediately lose your audience. There is much for a lobbyist to know about terminology.
The Millennials Group had a lunch as well, where about 20 of us "below 35-year-olds" got together to discuss the issues with getting the attention of younger folks, and why the demographic of CCL is the way it is. Before someone had actually mentioned it, I had not even noticed, but then afterwards it was all I could think about, making me quite ashamed that we hadn't worked harder on the issue before. Where were the black people in our group? The Hispanics? The Asians? Almost 98% of the group is old white folks. The exceptions are the young people, and even then, it seemed as though we were all upper crust kids that were at least in college or had recently graduated with some degree.
It was in this moment that I was starting to get the idea of what I really want to be doing with my life and my career. I don't want to work in a place where the demographic is so homogeneous. I want to constantly be learning about the cultures of the people around me, and the language too. That's what really excites me: Travel, language, and the culture that comes with it.
That being said, there were a couple of break-out sessions after lunch that gave me much to ponder. One of them was about Environmental Justice, and the other discussed Latinos and climate change. As it turns out, Latinos are really not new to the idea of supporting climate change through policy, and really believe that it's the government's job to set better standards for our health and the planet. For other minorities, there is a disproportionate amount of harmful materials (whether in the air, water supply, or even food) exposed to their neighborhoods because they don't have the kind of political representation or community unity to stand up for their health. It's really sad to know that this happens every day, in every country.
I want to be on the ground, talking to these people. I'd love to be the voice for others who don't know how to articulate themselves in a way that is really effective, or who don't know where to start when wanting to make a change. That seems much more satisfying to me than sitting in congressional offices learning the right terminology to possibly sway someone to the other side. It's so "manipulative", as a friend told me last night, and I completely agree! For some, politics is exciting and stimulating and rewarding and everything they've ever wanted to do.
But Tuesday was a whole other story. I was shocked at myself for what I felt after all of my meetings. I mean, the morning started off well, with two going very smoothly and reflecting the hard work that we had put into knowing our facts and having an answer to most of the questions. But then the afternoon came, and I felt embarrassed after leaving the office of a staffer. It seemed as though the others were following a script that they had been taught (and maybe that's the way a lot of people have interpreted CCL's methodology), and people were asking the representative to introduce legislation before they even knew what a carbon tax was! I just wanted to make the others stop talking so that the staffer could actually say something, and us not be shoving facts down his throat. How many other meetings went the same way? And what was going through their minds when asking questions like that? How many volunteers do we have that firmly believe carbon fee and dividend is THE SOLUTION and just follow a meeting outline to a T?
Later, as we waited outside the office of another staffer, a man came into the office with straightened hair and expensive sunglasses, surely designer jeans and a nice t-shirt. He flipped his bangs to the side and was later escorted to "The Gallery", and it just made me so repulsed. This may be the young, inexperienced, judgemental side of me coming out, but I just got the sense that there are many people like this man in Washington, who have had everything from the beginning, or have gone into the field of politics knowing the back doors and having the connections to get stuff done even though it's unethical or unsound in some way. For this reason, I knew that I had to get out of there, and fast. I just couldn't take being surrounded by all these affluent people in suits and ties, expensive shoes and sunglasses, briefcases and purses. I'd just be critical of everyone all the time if I continued to return to Capitol Hill or other congressional offices. And I don't like feeling that way! I want to be the kind, creative, and enthusiastic person I know myself to be, and putting myself in a position to lobby would just make a monster out of me.
All negativity aside, I have to take something positive away from these four days in D.C. 1) I don't want to live in a big city where the traffic is so bad and it takes me an hour to get from my house to work 2) Politics is not for me and I'm not going to continue with the lobby route because I don't want to be critical of others all the time 3) Riding the Metro Rail is the COOLEST THING EVER 4) Joining groups like these and learning from the inside will save me a lot of money in college if I continue to seek out opportunities to explore my interests. Who knows? I could have been a political science major, or have wanted to work in environmental law, but now I know that it's NOT for me, which is fantastic! I can cross that off of my list of career moves. 5) I understand a lot more about the intricacies of communication, especially how a single word can write you off in an instant 6) Citizens Climate Lobby has given me so many connections to people across the country that are concerned with the environment and have really encouraged me to continue my pursuit of changing the world.
In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone for their support in this endeavor. It has obviously had a big impact on me and it wouldn't have been possible without many generous donations of my Lawrence comrades. I have decided to volunteer for Plymouth Congregational Church working with their Spanish Language Program in hopes of finding a way to redirect my volunteering hours. I have a good feeling about it!
Last but not least, the few photos you've been waiting for:
Comments
Post a Comment