Thank you for the time to write out and share your response. It's very generous of you to engage.
I don't usually comment and I'm struggling to explain as a result. First let me try to correct some of what I said that was not explained well.
Slowly was definitely wrong word - weve never seen a pIanet warm this rapidly. I it meant in the context of someone worried if they'll be able to afford food for the week or rent by the end of the month and keep the lights on. You're absolutely right we've never seen an increase this rapidly - this is civilization ending if we don't start addressing it.
And I also didn't mean "comfortable and secure" as financial, but not in a traumatized state of being. The addict not able to get care, the mom working two jobs and still not able to afford a birthday cake. Endless stories that are all solvable by a more equitable society
Polls show that few people list climate change as a top concern. It's higher on the coasts, but Mumdani knows he's a national figure. He's aware people have lost faith in the government: Rs lie and lie again, Ds give lip service and false hope. Mumdani has to reestablish that a government can work for people again. But that's going to take 2-3 issues people can fully comprehend and see the direct impact after some success. The snow is cleared, the busses are running, the grocery stores are opening, the rent is down. None of the terrible predictions of collapse happened as a result, just a few billionaires woke up with a few less billions.
Trust in government has to start again, but it needs to be small and provable. Then it can grow at an exponential pace.
I would like it to be a focus because until we label these problems we won't address them. But I think Mamdani is focusing on the immediate issues, knowing that people have a limited capacity in an increasingly chaotic world. The 1% are tearing our world apart, and while we may be able to draw a direct line between endless greed and climate change, someone struggling to afford the basics may not.
Once people are comfortable and secure, they have more capacity and compassion for their community - and the planet at large. People are so afraid of their present reality, discussing a slowly warming planet is just not on their top 3 lists of things to be concerned about.
I hope we as a society can get to the point of where we're all capable of handling the 100 most immediate problems facing the planet, and tackle them all at once before it's too late. But we need to not be traumatized to do that.
I agree that we have limited capacity in a chaotic world. But I think that demonstrating the broader awareness and ability to communicate about root causes can and should be done and would actually reduce people's fear. Studies do show that the greatest climate anxiety is felt by the most vulnerable in the path of extreme weather. I also disagree that financially comfortable people show more empathy and concern for the community at large, in fact, research suggests the opposite is true. I don't know why it would be so hard for the Mayor to take a second to say "Greedy billionaires caused this weather and I have a plan to mitigate it in the future and tax their profits to pay for things we need." I think anyone can understand that. MAGA Marjorie Taylor Greene famously said Jewish space lasers caused the wildfires, because having someone to blame for a catastrophe focuses the mind and energy toward solutions. The advantage is that our side is telling the truth. Finally, our planet is not warming slowly. It's warming insanely fast.
Thank you for the time to write out and share your response. It's very generous of you to engage.
I don't usually comment and I'm struggling to explain as a result. First let me try to correct some of what I said that was not explained well.
Slowly was definitely wrong word - weve never seen a pIanet warm this rapidly. I it meant in the context of someone worried if they'll be able to afford food for the week or rent by the end of the month and keep the lights on. You're absolutely right we've never seen an increase this rapidly - this is civilization ending if we don't start addressing it.
And I also didn't mean "comfortable and secure" as financial, but not in a traumatized state of being. The addict not able to get care, the mom working two jobs and still not able to afford a birthday cake. Endless stories that are all solvable by a more equitable society
Polls show that few people list climate change as a top concern. It's higher on the coasts, but Mumdani knows he's a national figure. He's aware people have lost faith in the government: Rs lie and lie again, Ds give lip service and false hope. Mumdani has to reestablish that a government can work for people again. But that's going to take 2-3 issues people can fully comprehend and see the direct impact after some success. The snow is cleared, the busses are running, the grocery stores are opening, the rent is down. None of the terrible predictions of collapse happened as a result, just a few billionaires woke up with a few less billions.
Trust in government has to start again, but it needs to be small and provable. Then it can grow at an exponential pace.
So well said thank you for writing this.
Thanks for hearing!!
I would like it to be a focus because until we label these problems we won't address them. But I think Mamdani is focusing on the immediate issues, knowing that people have a limited capacity in an increasingly chaotic world. The 1% are tearing our world apart, and while we may be able to draw a direct line between endless greed and climate change, someone struggling to afford the basics may not.
Once people are comfortable and secure, they have more capacity and compassion for their community - and the planet at large. People are so afraid of their present reality, discussing a slowly warming planet is just not on their top 3 lists of things to be concerned about.
I hope we as a society can get to the point of where we're all capable of handling the 100 most immediate problems facing the planet, and tackle them all at once before it's too late. But we need to not be traumatized to do that.
I agree that we have limited capacity in a chaotic world. But I think that demonstrating the broader awareness and ability to communicate about root causes can and should be done and would actually reduce people's fear. Studies do show that the greatest climate anxiety is felt by the most vulnerable in the path of extreme weather. I also disagree that financially comfortable people show more empathy and concern for the community at large, in fact, research suggests the opposite is true. I don't know why it would be so hard for the Mayor to take a second to say "Greedy billionaires caused this weather and I have a plan to mitigate it in the future and tax their profits to pay for things we need." I think anyone can understand that. MAGA Marjorie Taylor Greene famously said Jewish space lasers caused the wildfires, because having someone to blame for a catastrophe focuses the mind and energy toward solutions. The advantage is that our side is telling the truth. Finally, our planet is not warming slowly. It's warming insanely fast.