Is Aunt Sally A Climate Denier? How to Talk at the Thanksgiving Dinner Table
Nothing bursts a tryptophan bubble like politics at the Thanksgiving table. But sometimes it's unavoidable, so why fight it?
With a simple smile and an offer of good will, a close-minded debate can turn into a constructive dialogue, whether that's Republican martyr theory, fuzzy coal economics, or climate change translation.
To get to that point, the Sierra Club has made you a handy Survival Guide. While their guide is good, it runs a little heavy-handed, so I'm going to call mine a Healthy Dialogue Recipe. If followed correctly, it produces a delicious, completely organic interest in environmental activism.
It's as easy as a QUID-- Question, Underline, Inform, Direct.
It's likely that the conversation will start with a comment only distantly related to what people were talking about five seconds earlier. Something like, "Oh, yeah, Harry Potter was really good. I love magic. I just wish we could use it to make renewable energy work." Or something like that; it could be much blunter.
To be fair, sometimes an explosion is inevitable from the first word. There will be people who find Thanksgiving just another opportunity to upstage the people they love. If the conversation spirals out of control don't follow it down; it's important that what you say stick better than Uncle or Aunt Apocalypto. There will probably be children watching, and they want to see you be the cool cucumber at the table. You're not just talking to one person, you're talking to everyone around you.
This is when you don't explode. Instead, smile and ask a Question to better understand what so-and-so is saying. This is sometimes all you need to do, because he or she may not really know the details of this position. It's possible he or she will be intimidated by someone actually listening and change the subject back to Harry Potter or the weather or how awesome 30 Rock is. There's no reason to rub it in; and after pie you can have a private conversation with this person who now knows that you care about him or her. Bridging the ideology gap will be much easier.
If you're not so lucky, and they actually do respond (and respond well) Underline the part of their response that both of you can agree on; Inform them of something really interesting they might not have heard on the subject; and then Direct them to where they can learn more about the fascinating thing you just told them.
An argument is not what you want; unless he or she brings it, in which case it's been brought, and there's nothing to do but systematically and calmly unravel everything he or she says. Which can be fun for everyone.
In the Sierra Club's Survival Guide, they provide a role playing exercise with facts and figures and talking points for your conversation. I don't think this is necessarily constructive, because you end up sounding like the Sierra Club and not the person your family knows and loves. You know your audience and they know you. If you talk about something that you and your family would naturally get excited about or find deplorable you're already half way there. Being more interesting than a talking point is the name of the game.
But I do think the best back-up is solid information, and so for a few interesting stories that might take your political interrogator by surprise I suggest these (which, consequently, also go along with the Sierra Club's Guide):
A truly bipartisan fight in Kansas to stop a coal plant favored by a Democratic Gov.
And, coal still sucks ash.
Photo Credit: kevindooley via Flickr
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Ben Proffer
is an environment writer and has written for Sherman’s Travel and New York magazines.
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