“I don’t give a shit about the environment”

During FYS today we were talking about the environmental movement and the polarization thereof. At one point, we’d broken off into smaller groups to discuss a reading. And then a girl in my group, who didn’t really talk much prior, had this to say. “I don’t give a shit about the environment. I’m not really that kind of person. I just don’t give a shit.”

Ok. First of all? Yes you do. If there was excessive pollution that smogged up the air, you’d be ticked off. If you got sick from bad meat, you’d be pissed. If there was a landfill right next to the college, you’d be up in arms.

Second of all, though, is the whole “I’m not really that kind of person” bit. What kind of person are you, then? That quote right there is the biggest issue with the environmental movement today. People believe that if they care about the environment and what happens to it, they’re some sort of extremist liberal. And so when this girl says “I’m not really that kind of person”, she means “I’m not a tree humping liberal who hates all industrialism”. That’s still a BS statement, but whatever.

Environmentalism isn’t a “leftist” ideal. It isn’t an issue only liberal hippies care about. It affects everyone, so can we make a pact as human beings to stop defining it as an “us” or “them” issue? Look, I don’t care what you think about climate change or global warming. I really don’t. Think what you want. But environmental activism isn’t only Al Gore with his little graphs. It’s a big world out there, people, with big problems.

Bad meat production doesn’t just affect people who voted for Obama. Everyone feels the effects, whether it be the early puberty, the polluted water table, or the sickness associated with infected fecal matter. Sustainability isn’t a leftist curse, it’s a battle cry for the youth generation.

Look, me and the rest of Generation X are beginning to inherit all the issues from the generations before us. And let me tell you, it isn’t pretty. Family farms are going out of business, there’s a focus on mass production over health, and the political system is in shambles. So stop trying to define the current problems with our country and our world by the archaic “republican” and “democrat” standards. No matter what the issue is, it has implications for everyone.

And then this same girl continued to spew her culture-induced ignorance. “What people don’t get is that the majority vote is hurting everything. We don’t actually vote for anything; the electorate and Congress have the final say.”

Immediately, I spoke up. “Uh… we elect Congressmen. Also, our political system is based on participation. And since only about 45% of people in America vote, it’s a bit difficult for anything to be representative.”

The girl started nodding as if I was agreeing with her. “But, like, our votes don’t even matter.” Our professor took that opportunity to bring the group back together, but I’d like to respond to the girl anyways.

AAAAAAAAH.

Every time someone says that their vote doesn’t matter, I imagine myself strangling them. Think of it this way. If one person believed their vote didn’t matter, then it probably didn’t. But if many people share that view, and many do, we’re given a problem. Because everyone believes their votes don’t matter, the majority of Americans don’t vote. The only reason people’s votes don’t count is because no one else is voting. Remember that thing I said about political participation is the way our current system is set up? Yeah, still valid.

Let me put it in easier terms for those of you who are still unsure of my intention.

Imagine a poll: “Do you like Heidi Montag? Yes or no.” Your one vote for “yes” may not matter on its own, but your one vote plus your friend’s one vote plus everyone else’s vote does. And maybe your one vote was the swing vote, the tip of the balance. Maybe out of the thousands of votes on this poll, your one vote doesn’t look very impressive. But imagine if all those votes didn’t exist because all those people believed that, in the grand scheme of things, their vote wouldn’t matter.

Only together can we ever move forward. So when you vote, convince other people to vote as well. The more people who vote, the more representative our government. The more people who vote, the more voting mattes.

That brings me to my final point, to tie everything together. I don’t care if it’s environmentalism, voting, or whatever. The only way anything ever gets done is if people come together and affect change. We need to stop framing issues in either a conservative or liberal light. If we stopped spending so much time putting ideas into boxes and then deciding which ones we care about, do you know how much more time we would have to, I don’t know, do something?? The reason our political system is so effed up is because you can’t afford to be a fence sitter. You’re either with us or with them. Overlap? Middle ground? These are foreign concepts.

I refuse to vote for a candidate that defines themselves by their political party. I don’t give a damn if you’re a donkey or an elephant. All I care about is if you can represent me and what I believe. I “give a shit” about everything, because I don’t get to pick and choose which issues affect me.