Hi friends,
Yesterday, I had the privilege to preview a workshop on strategic communications. The hour was very well spent, since I learned cool things that I am going to try out on you and all the folks we communicate with.
The key, I learned, is to replace the stories that hold us back and center a new story, rooted in our values. This is what I love about Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s approach to climate action. In a recent interview, she said,
“This is an opportunity to live a different and better life.”
At the time, Bill McKibben called the moratorium “a massive win”:
This is the biggest check any president has ever applied to the fossil fuel industry, and the strongest move against dirty energy in American history. And if you have any doubts, check out the tears of outrage from Big Oil.
We continue to hear the old stories that hold us back from meaningful action; they tell us that curtailing fossil fuels will cost us jobs and damage the economy.
This month, 75 members of Congress expressed public support for the LNG moratorium. There are still hundreds of legislators who have not done so.
The American public needs to understand better why stopping LNG exports is part of our different and better future.
Call on your Congressional delegation to publicly and frequently praise the LNG pause and explain what it means.
Now that I know what strategic communications are, I’m kind of obsessed with finding examples. And as my teacher — my own springling, Lena Greenberg — pointed out, most people hew to the old stories that hold us back instead of the new stories that badly need telling.
Yesterday, the Times published an important essay by Jamie Raskin, congressman and constitutional scholar. I learned a lot from his essay.
Still, I want to rewrite his opening sentence: There are people who can and must hold Supreme Court Justices accountable because the rule of law means nothing unless powerful people are required to follow laws too.
He beautifully describes the problem of deeply compromised judges and its solution. I have provided the action.
Call on the US attorney for the District of Columbia and the Solicitor General to petition Supreme Court Justices to demand that Alito and Thomas recuse themselves from Jan 6 cases.
Finally, here’s a quick action, predicated on the idea that people should be able to fulfill their obligation to pay federal taxes without paying tax preparation fees.
Tell Congress to expand the IRS Direct File Program. This quick action is from Patriotic Millionaires.
Have a great day!
with love,
L