Go for the Relatives

My dad has long associated himself with the conservative cause. Going along with the conservative line of the day, he long was a global warming skeptic - up until this past semester, in fact.

What I found with him, and with most people who are climate skeptics, is that they have associated themselves with the Republican party and the conservative cause, to varying degrees. Often this was their upbringing - for my father, his immediate and extended family were all from the South. Though I have no data to numbers to back this up, I think Civil War era divisions are still at the root of the split in this country (just look at the presidential election map). Many people in the south still think of northerners as Damn Yanks, and northerners consider southerners backwards hicks.

For my dad, and I think most people, where they stand on the issues is largely determined by where their family stood before them. Politics is not nearly as conscious as it should be. For most people, when they are not already knowledgeable on an issue, they are not going to bother to become so, unless it seriously behooves them to do so.

The party line provides an easy cop out to actual research into the issues. This is one of the larger problems I have with the party system that we have, but I won't digress anymore.

Regarding climate change, my dad had a basic knowledge of the conservative line regarding climate change. It took me awhile to convince him otherwise, but eventually I did. The biggest factors in convincing him was tailoring my argument to him. I had to convince him using things he was familiar with and respected. For some people this is religion, for others this is broad distaste for big government (or government at all). I lucked out because for my dad, it was science with a little dab in politics (both of which I have extensive background in).

He had always gone along with party line and never really thought much of it because it didn't affect him. I think my choice to focus on environmental issues in my academic life made him reconsider what he had always followed. Broader than that, the last election provided the perfect stage upon which I could engage him and my entire family in a debates over prominent issues in the election. My parents had never really engaged these issues head on before, but my focus on them brought them to reconsider their views.

This is a trend I see with many people. When family members, or friends that they deeply respect are passionate about certain issues, they reconsider. This was the case for former VA Senator John Warner, who's grandchildren convinced him of the reality of climate change. It has been the same with many people, on many issues (Even Dick Cheney and Gay Rights via his daughter). The lesson I take from this is that, if you want to get to someone high up who otherwise wouldn't give you the time of day - get to someone they care about, who will do the convincing for you.