The Lilith Blog

June 3, 2019 by Nylah Burton

It’s Time to Be a Single-Issue Voter for the Climate

Voting for a political candidate solely on the basis of their stance on a single issue is not always the smartest thing to do. Bluntly put, it’s often a decision motivated by myopic selfishness, as well. Part of this is because single-issue voting is, in my mind, too often associated with people who vote for candidates with draconian policy positions. Consider guardians of gun “rights”, so-called Israel “supporters” who ignore domestic policy both here and there, opponents of gay marriage, and anti-abortion advocates. At this moment in time, with extreme, oppressive positions on so many of these issues, single-issue voting can feel dangerous.

But then there are the other kind of single-minded voters… people who have worthy causes they care, but who will vote for candidates with no chance of winning for the sake of “purity.” I get it: voting is an extremely personal statement of values, but it can be frustrating when this happens during a high-stakes election. Remember all those people who voted for JIll Stein and Gary Johnson during the 2016 election? Yeah… I’m still mad about that. 

So, it’s safe to say that I usually think single-issue voting isn’t the best thing to do.  Except in the 2020 presidential election. As a Black Jewish feminist I am committed to many issues that are life and death–from police violence to abortion–but for the first time, I find myself zeroing in on a singular issue: climate catastrophe.

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The Lilith Blog

March 28, 2019 by Nylah Burton

“Commanded to Repair the World:” A Young Writer Confronts Climate Change

I’ll be 24 next week. And in ten years, I’ll probably be buying my first house. I might be celebrating a wedding anniversary that’s not even in the double-digits yet. I may be ready to have a child, or I may already have one or two. I should not be thinking of en years as a period at the end of a sentence. It should be an ellipse… a bridge to a continued narrative of my life.

And yet, in the wake of the climate report, ten years has come to mean something entirely different. In the context of climate change, ten years means a point of no return. Hence, my crippling fear.  

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January 10, 2019 by admin

I’m Suing the Government Over Climate Change

“My name is Jamie, I’m 16 years old, I’m going into my junior year of high school, and I, along with 12 other young people, recently sued the state of Washington. Why? Because Governor Jay Inslee and the whole state government is screwing over my generation… Washington state’s elected officials talk about solving the climate crisis, but then turn around and issue permits for fossil fuel plants that poison communities, and destroy the ecosystems, water, air and land that my generation and future generations need to survive…That’s why, with the help of the nonprofit organization Our Children’s Trust, 12 other youth and I sued the state of Washington for denying young people our constitutional rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by actively worsening the climate crisis.”

JAMIE MARGOLIN, “Zero Hour,” The Guardian, October 6, 2018.

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