Sharing this here as I feel it’s relevant to the GE campaign.
The evidence suggests that in about three weeks, we’re going to give a landslide to the party promising the most radical green policies in this country’s history. Environmentalism is just about to win the argument in Britain, as long as we vote for it on the 4th of July. Don’t give in to cynicism and despair!
Yet here you are, basically trying to shut me up and go as far as accusing me of mental health issues and doomscrolling. You know what causes change? Anger. You even see it with all the far right movements gaining massively all over the West. People need to be angry at all those things that are actually wrong, people need to demand change. Yet, most people can’t even bother to vote for climate relevant parties or candidates, because they rather live their comfortable lives instead of being potentially affected by actual climate policies that would be necessary.
Indeed, anger is important as long as its channeled correctly: https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-to-channel-your-anger-into-productive-action
But getting angry at something doesn’t mean we have to be angry all the time. Neither does it mean we have to do so at the expense of other emotions, including hope and positivity. Emotional engagement with climate change is complicated, and it’s important we understand that one size doesn’t fit all. If anger works for you, great, but it may not work for everyone:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/risa.12140
I share your frustrations about people’s voting patterns, but as I’ve demonstrated only focusing on the negative will not help change that. Motivation is important, and people are willing to change, we just need to find better ways to help them: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/09/14/in-response-to-climate-change-citizens-in-advanced-economies-are-willing-to-alter-how-they-live-and-work/#:~:text=A median of 80%25 across,or no changes at all