Conservative Environmentalist Talks About Polarized Politics and Simplistic Stereotypes

“It feels weird to call myself a conservative because the automatic stereotypes that people have aren’t necessarily what I am or what I believe.”
    — Benji Backer on the 12 Geniuses podcast

In the latest episode of “Debate Without Hate: Elections 2024,” Benji Backer, the author of The Conservative Environmentalist, shares insights about building cross-partisan consensus and beliefs that don’t easily align with political stereotypes.

Benji describes how he got his start in political involvement at a time of extreme partisan division: 

It was the middle of the 2016 presidential election, and I was really dismayed by the divide that was starting to happen in politics, the visceral partisan divide. And of course, I was right-of-center, but I was never like, oh, the left-of-center sucks or, you know, people who are liberal are horrible. And I hated being called horrible as a conservative by people on the left. I just felt like things were changing in a really bad way.

Benji’s experiences provide insights for anyone working toward a political cause. For one thing, there’s often more common ground on contentious issues than many people realize, and also more creative compromises possible than many realize. For another thing, we’re surrounded by simplistic political stereotypes, so examining the ways people don’t fit those stereotypes can help us engage with each other in more productive, less biased ways. 

A key takeaway from this talk is the importance of empathy in political discourse, particularly on polarizing topics like climate change. Benji points out that, although conservatives and liberals may approach the issue differently, they often share more common ground than expected. He emphasizes that addressing climate change requires a variety of approaches, including local community initiatives, entrepreneurship, and effective policymaking.

Watch this 12 Geniuses episode now. 

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