Why does Move Faster have guidelines for public events?
All Move Faster events should support our mission, to broaden political support for a safe environment, and our vision, to be an organization where people in the political center and right feel comfortable accelerating society’s return to a clean, safe, and stable environment.
To organize an event that meets those ideals, it is important to know that the moral foundations (deeply held values) for conservatives tend to be different than for progressives/liberals. Actions that are typical at public demonstrations by left-leaning environmental organizations can alienate people who are moderate/conservative or, at least, fail to convey the intended message.
Move Faster events should demonstrate that conservatives and moderates can act for the environment while being faithful to their deeply held values by taking those values into account when planning and executing the events.
Moral Foundation Theory - Conservative Morality is Different Than Liberal Morality
The following is based upon the book “The Righteous Mind - Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion” by Jonathan Haidt. (Note: We strongly suggest you check with your library to see if they have this book and, if so, we urge you to read it. Dr. Haidt goes into much more detail than we can here.)
Moral foundation theory states that humans base their moral judgements, what is right and what is wrong, on (at least) the six foundations listed here. But different people (groups) emphasize different foundations and interpret them differently.
Care vs. harm. It is virtuous to protect people and animals from harm. Harming, or allowing harm, to someone or some living thing without good reason is wrong.
Liberty vs. oppression. Upholding freedom and equality and defending the oppressed is right. Oppression is wrong.
Fairness vs. cheating. Doing your share of the work and taking only your share of the results is good. Slacking and cheating are wrong.
Loyalty vs. betrayal. Supporting your group is virtuous. Betraying your group is evil.
Authority vs. subversion. Supporting legitimate authorities is correct. Subverting your leaders is wrong.
Sanctity vs. degradation. Certain things, concepts, and actions are noble, pure, and/or elevated in their own right and it is virtuous to protect them. Other things are base, polluted, or degraded and it is wrong to embrace them.
These ideas are the result of a large amount of public opinion polling and psychological experimentation. As such, they are broad generalities that apply to the typical beliefs in large groups (e.g. liberals, moderates, conservatives, and libertarians). Each individual is unique and will have unique views on moral judgements, but many moral judgements by an individual are likely to align with the typical judgements of the group(s) to which the individual belongs.
Foundations of Liberal/Progressive Morality
People who are left of center tend to base their moral judgements on care vs. harm, liberty vs. oppression, and to a lesser degree fairness vs. cheating, while depending very little on loyalty vs. betrayal, authority vs. subversion, and sanctity vs. degradation.
Preventing harm is the top basis of morality for liberals. Liberals are more disturbed by violence and suffering than are conservatives and libertarians. Liberals tend to extend this protective attitude to all humans and frequently to animals and even all lifeforms.
Within the liberty vs. oppression foundation, liberals tend to focus on preventing and reversing oppression of vulnerable groups, sometimes including animals. This also leads to calls for equality, frequently equality of outcome instead of equality of opportunity that more conservative people espouse.
While everyone values fairness, liberals are willing to view it in a less individual way, such as using social safety net programs to compensate oppressed groups.
Liberals tend to be ambivalent or suspicious of the remaining three foundations. Group loyalty can lead to racism and other forms of descrimination when taken to the extreme. Authority can lead to rigid hierarchies that oppress certain people based upon which groups they are born into. Sanctity is usually not important to liberals, though liberals can sanctify the environment and endangered species.
In summary, progressives/liberals tend to strongly care for oppressed groups and want to bring them to equality of outcome with the oppressing group.
Foundations of Conservative Morality
People who are right of center are more likely to base their morality on all six foundations with roughly equal emphasis. This can require trade-offs in cases where moral foundations conflict with each other.
Conservatives want to prevent harm, but tend to be most concerned with those close to them in some way (e.g. same town, same social organization, same country). If there is a conflict between preventing harm and another moral foundation, particularly for those who are perceived to be further away (e.g. citizens of another country, animals), conservatives are more likely to allow harm to avoid violating their other moral values.
Liberty vs. oppression tends to be more personal for conservatives. This manifests as wanting personal freedom without the government interfering or taking from them. In terms of equality, conservatives tend to value equality of opportunity.
Fairness vs. cheating is very important for many conservatives, also in a personal way. People who work hard should be rewarded for their work and allowed to keep those rewards. People who won’t work don’t deserve to be given handouts by the government. People who commit crimes should be punished.
Loyalty is emphasized, and the groups to which loyalty is owed tend to be closer (e.g. political parties, religious groups, the United States). Some conservatives are suspicious of the United Nations and international treaties, viewing them as infringing upon the sovereignty of the United States.
Regarding authority vs. subversion, conservatives value social stability, which leads to strong support for legitimate authorities and viewing subversion as a threat to social stability and thus as a threat to themselves.
Some of the strongest conservative reactions to perceived moral violations occur when the sanctity of something is violated, and these reactions can be visceral, immediate, and emphatic. This can occur in religious matters (e.g. sanctity of life, sanctity of marriage) and in non-religious concerns (e.g. disrespect for the US or the US flag). Psychological testing shows conservatives generally react more strongly to disgusting stimuli than do liberals and libertarians.
The US flag in particular requires special mention. Most conservatives and many moderates view the flag as a symbol of the country they love and also as embodying all the service members who have given their lives to ensure our freedoms. Disrespect to the US flag can cause rage and hatred towards those showing that disrespect. Even ignoring the flag can lead to feelings of contempt. Disrespect of the United States itself can cause identical reactions to disrespect of the flag.
In summary, conservatives value social stability and will strongly work to support those institutions that they see as necessary for that stability.
Foundations of Moderate Morality
Those in the political center tend to be “in between” liberal/progressives and conservatives in their use of the six moral foundations. They rely strongly on the care vs. harm, liberty vs. oppression, and fairness vs. cheating foundations, but use the loyalty vs. betrayal, authority vs. subversion, and sanctity vs. degradation foundations more than liberals and less than conservatives.
Polling and other studies have shown that there are many dimensions to the political middle, and most moderates tend to act conservative on some issues, liberal on others, and truly in the middle on the rest. Different moderates will be conservative (liberal) on different issues. This may be why a 3rd, centrist political party has not become a stable part of the US political system. There are too many competing issues that can pull moderates in different directions.
In summary, individual moderates can be all over the map and assuming moderates are in the middle on all issues is incorrect.
Foundations of Libertarian Morality
Libertarians base almost all of their moral reasoning on the liberty vs. oppression foundation, with a lesser amount of fairness vs. cheating included. Libertarians value individual liberty above all else and are strongly opposed to government intervention in their lives.
While libertarians usually ally themselves politically with conservatives, due to a shared desire for limited government, they can adopt “progressive stances” on some social issues such as legalizing drugs and sexual matters as they view them as none of the government’s business.
In summary, libertarians value personal freedom.
Move Faster will embrace conservative/moderate values at public demonstrations
All Move Faster public events should be planned and executed to include the following actions and beliefs. (Note: There may be limited circumstances where law enforcement officers ask us to not carry large flag poles or any flag poles with sharp points. In this case we will obey the law enforcement officers. Our signage should include images of the American flag.)
Being public with our patriotism. We fly and/or march with the American flag at our events to symbolize our love of the United States and its people. But this is not the only way we show our patriotism. We recognize that pollution kills, injures, and sickens many Americans and we are working to save and improve the lives of our citizens. (Moral foundations: loyalty, sanctity)
Obeying the law. All Move Faster event participants must engage in only legal behaviors. We do not want any participants to be arrested. We strive to have a good relationship with police and other public safety officials. (Moral foundation: respecting authority)
We remain polite and respectful, regardless of how others treat us. We don’t swear, use coarse language, or yell at people. (Moral foundation: sanctity)
Care for American workers and the American economy. We believe that the health effects of pollution cause untold suffering and cost our economy a great deal of money, weakening our country. (Moral foundation: care)
We favor incentivizing the correct behaviors over regulating behaviors. (Moral foundation: liberty)
How left-leaning environmentalists alienate conservatives and moderates
We believe that most left-leaning environmentalists are good people who are acting according to their moral values. However, we also believe that some of their actions serve only to fire up their most dedicated members, and that by offending the sensibilities of others these actions reduce the number of people who are willing to consider themselves environmentalists, reducing the political power of the environmental movement.
Move Faster rejects the use of any of the following behaviors, or similar behaviors, at our events as they will alienate the people we need to have join the environmental movement.
Calls for rebellion, revolution, or replacing the capitalist system with socialism. (Moral foundations offended: loyalty, liberty, respect for authority, stability)
Disrespect or hatred of the United States, its government, or its flag. (Moral foundations offended: (loyalty, sanctity).
Being anti-business, particularly anti-big-business. We will protest individual businesses that are polluting, but we do not condemn large corporations in general. (Moral foundations offended: care, stability)
Use images or statues of polar bears or other “charismatic megafauna.” Many conservatives interpret this as caring more about polar bears than American workers. (Moral foundation offended: care for American citizens)
An adversarial relationship with the police. (Moral foundation offended: respect for authority)
Destruction of property. (Moral foundations offended: fairness, respect for authority, sanctity, liberty)
Our Values
Our values were selected to support our mission and vision. At any public action by Move Faster members should adhere to, and publicly demonstrate, our values.
Positivity - To broaden political support we need to encourage people who are not yet active on the environment to join us. Leading with solutions and a positive message is more likely than fear and negativity to bring “fence-sitters” to our side.
The messaging at a Move Faster public event should emphasize what we are for: clean air, safe drinking water, healthy soils, and a stable climate.
Additionally, a negative focus drains energy from those of us who are already working on environmental issues, reducing our effectiveness. Positivity and hope can sustain us.
Politeness - Yelling at someone is a very poor way to convince that person to change their views, particularly if they feel their deepest values are under attack. They are much more likely to become entrenched in their position.
Politely listening to a person to understand their position, and then politely and positively responding is likely to improve communications and understanding and result in change.
Furthermore, other people watching may be put off by any lack of politeness we show, potentially turning away someone we might have attracted with a polite demeanor.
Everyone attending a Move Faster public event should be reminded to remain polite even if they are interacting with someone who is not being polite. If one of our attendees is having difficulty remaining polite in an interaction, other attendees should join the conversation to remove pressure and continue to model polite behavior.
Patriotism - Patriotism is a core moral value of many who are right of center. By reinforcing the idea that cleaning our environment will save American lives we demonstrate that environmental action is consistent with one of the core values of conservatives and moderates.
We strongly encourage the carrying of American flags at our events as a public declaration of our love for our country and its people.
Focus - We focus on our physical environment: air, water, soil, and climate. Any reasonable person wants cleaner air, safe and plentiful water, healthy soils, and a stable climate. Concentrating on our physical environment in a positive way will broaden political support for improving that environment.
While aspects of our social environment - our economic system, the minimum wage, education reform, labor unions, universal health care, etc. - are very important topics, they are also divisive (e.g. The Green New Deal) and may divert people from efforts to broaden the political support for action on our physical environment. We ask that you avoid aspects of our social environment in your demonstrations.
Accountability - We hold ourselves accountable and will try to correct mistakes when we make them. However, it is much easier to avoid a mistake through research and advanced planning than it is to correct it after the fact.
Thus, we hold ourselves accountable to select the target business or government of a public demonstration (protest or pro-fest) carefully and with sufficient research so that we do not have to correct false accusations or green-washing after the fact.
Respect - To achieve our mission of broadening political support for the environment, we will need to work with those who have different political views than ours. Working together across political divisions cannot be effective unless mutual respect is at the core of the relationship.
The extreme political polarization of our society may cause others to be suspicious of right-of-center environmentalists and to initially not treat us respectfully. Regardless, we must treat others with respect and, if necessary, earn their respect.
As with politeness, all attendees at a Move Faster event should be reminded to treat everyone with respect. If an attendee is having difficulty being respectful, another attendee should join the conversation and model respectful behavior.
Equal Rights - Everyone has an equal right to live where pollution does not shorten their lives, does not make them sick, and does not cause developmental problems in their children.
Unfortunately, historical discrimination has made it more likely that the poor and other marginalized populations are living in neighborhoods with much higher levels of air pollution, impure water, and contaminated soils. Economic realities deprive people with lower incomes of the opportunity to move to cleaner and healthier areas.
To uphold our ideal of equal rights, we need to emphasize pollution reduction and removal in the most impacted neighborhoods and work with the residents of those areas to ensure they have the same opportunity for a healthy life as those in more affluent, less polluted areas.
Stability - Cleaning our surroundings will require some changes to our society, but as moderates and conservatives we want those changes to be evolutionary and to uphold stability, not revolutionary and destabilizing. Social instability will reduce the support for a cleaner environment, slowing down the very changes that would reduce instability.
Humility - We don’t demand perfection of ourselves or other people, and we don’t demand perfection of businesses and governments. However, we strongly encourage businesses and governments to change their behaviors ASAP to clean our air, water, and soil and to stabilize our climate.
Self Reflection -We always seek to improve our public demonstrations and other actions. We ask that you fill out a demonstration plan before your demonstration so that you can, after the demonstration, compare your actual impacts to what you planned and identify areas where things could be improved.