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A Sierra Club Holiday Survival Guide:
How to Win Arguments and Influence People
Sis
Sis just got back from her first semester of college. While there, she helped force the administration to swear off coal power and gave up meat. She's seen pictures of you from back in the day when you used to have long hair and worked on an organic farm - and she likes to give you a hard time about that fact that you now work an office job.
Sis just finished off the Tofurky, she's heard your conversation with everyone else, and she's ready to give you a hard time. You talked to Uncle Burt after all, and that guy is certifiable, she thinks.
Sis: So you think you won 'em over, huh? They're all ready to move back to the land and live off the grid.
You: Not anytime soon. With a crowd like this, though, sometimes it's enough just to make it through dinner. But I think we made some progress. There are a lot of different people open to green ideas if you frame it right and talk to them with respect.
Sis: Progress? You call this dinner progress? You need some confrontation in your life! Enough of this polite dinner conversation. I say we stage a walkout and put a pile of coal in front of Cousin Mervin's house!
You: Well there's a time and a place for direct action, but I don't think our holiday dinner is either. Let's just let President Obama do his thing, and the EPA will clean up the country while Uncle Burt is listening to AM radio.
Sis: But Obama hasn't done anything on climate change. That guy needs to step up.
You: I agree that a lot more needs to be done, sure, but think about it realistically. The EPA is now set to regulate carbon emissions, fuel-efficiency standards for cars have been raised, science is once again respected in the White House, and millions of federal stimulus dollars have been put into clean energy. That's quite a lot.
Sis: : I guess that's what I should expect to hear from some organic-farmer-turned-working-for-the-man sell-out, huh? I'm not waiting around for anything. I'm all about shutting down coal plants, getting the world to 350, and playing keys in a band in my free time.
You: What you're doing is fantastic, Sis. You're obviously making a difference. You should see if there's a chapter of the Sierra Student Coalition on your campus, because they do fantastic actions on environmental issues. That's exactly what the environmental movement needs -- passionate young people like you in its ranks. I just hope you realize that there are a lot of different people in this world, all doing their best to live a good life. You might want to cut some of us some slack, and help make it easier for others to be green. And don't 'diss the photos of me from the farm - bell-bottoms are coming back!
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