Why we care: A conversation with RFK, Jr.
Last week I sat down (on Zoom, that is) with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I wrote about the coincidence that drew me into his campaign in this essay. He is on a lot of podcasts and television interviews, so I thought I would take a different approach in this conversation. We talked about his childhood, his spiritual beliefs and practices, and what made him into an environmentalist. (See also my essay How the Environmental Movement Can Find Its Way Again.) In the conversation, I spoke also about what has drawn me into this movement and campaign — with a bit of history going back to the 1930s.
More soon to come. Oh, here is the campaign website. And a link to donate to the campaign.
I get the drive to heal division. I’m an adult child of divorce now and my discomfort when others are in conflict is palpable. Inspired by wanting everyone to just love and understand each other, I find myself constantly playing devil’s advocate. Whether it’s with my covid skeptic friends who I’d like to have empathize with those who still wear masks to this day or my bought-in to propaganda family members who I wish could see the valid points that RFK Jr makes about how regulatory capture and lobbying negatively influenced the response to the pandemic.
Lately, what I’ve been realizing is that standing in the middle of the culture war and holding my arms out in the attempt to get either furious side to calm down just isn’t that effective. It seems to only make people furious with *me* instead.
As Charles points out in Clime: a New Story, society is composed of myths, systems, incentive structures and institutions that act as a kind of terrain that unbalances our relationship with the earth. The same is true of the terrain that, like rain hitting a mountain, pools people into dismal, divided valleys.
Am I just jaded, or is the only solution to focus on liberating only yourself mentally and spiritually? To allow others to experience their version of reality without trying to change them and to focus on injecting love into the system via morphic resonance? How much power does a president really have to repair our broken systems?
Wow! Bobby says you have the best book written on environmental solutions! What a great compliment. I'm happy to see this meeting of deep minds.