The Armchair Sunrise

As a divided nation searches for reconciliation, a new path forward is becoming clear

As the constitutional convention came to a close in 1789, Benjamin Franklin looked at the armchair that Washington sat in, with a sun painted on its headboard. As he signed the new Constitution, he said, and James Madison later recorded, “ [I] looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.” Franklin understood that unity was made through progress, and this was a monumental breakthrough. Although the framer’s refusal to address the horrors of slavery, genocide of Native Americans, and rampanant sexism would lead to centuries of struggle and strife, it was the most progressive government document ever seen by the western world. Since it’s signing, history has proven Franklin right: this country’s best moments have been when we embraced bold progressivism, and our darkest days have followed our complacency and inaction.  The Trump administration has been a devastatingly accurate example of this, but the reality is the chaos and abject cruelty of the last four years is not a fluke, and a narrow reelection defeat in what for all intents and purposes should have been an absolute blowout is proof that neither side of the political establishment is connecting with voters. America’s demons of race and class will define the political landscape for yet another generation. How then, does a lost country find its way back to global leadership and internal stability with the looming threats of automation, globalization, and climate change bearing down on our shores? The answer is a coherent message that connects social, environmental, and economic justice. When our problems seem most daunting, and the sun seems to be setting, the answer is a Green New Deal.

Although it’s politically charged now, history tells us that progressive policy is an incredible force for unity in American culture. In fact, we can draw a direct connection between the 2010s and early 2020s, and the 1920s and early 1930s. Rapid technological advancement left entire industries behind, vast disillusionment with government systems swept the country, and racial tensions spurred by economic anxiety and old wounds coincided with a devastating depression that threatened to rip the most fundamental fabrics of government. Millions went hungry or lost their homes and life’s savings. And in the middle of this, an upstart politician from New York had a bold idea: a New Deal for Americans. Whether it’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the point remains the same: when confronted with national crises on many fronts, a national reconciliation policy must recognize and address the connections between those crises in order to unite Americans and rekindle faith in the democratic process.  

A Green New Deal does precisely that by prioritizing economic justice—reorienting our economy away from the hemorrhaging fossil fuel industry and towards renewable energy, where jobs are cleaner, safer, better-paying and becoming more plentiful. The industrial heart of the midwest can be reignited as the world pivots towards electric cars and mass transportation, and infrastructure around the country will need updating to accommodate this tectonic shift. That’s millions of homegrown jobs in manufacturing and construction, at a time when those industries are increasingly being exported to other countries. The government must have a guiding hand in bringing these jobs to Americans, because the free market certainly won’t do it by itself. This also means supporting the re-emergence of unions, which are crucial to achieving better pay and conditions for workers. As we’ve seen pre-pandemic, the problem isn’t just that they’re aren’t enough jobs, but those jobs aren’t paying enough. In 2018 we had the lowest unemployment rate in decades, yet a record 40 million Americans were food insecure. The power of American labor comes from unions, and a Green New Deal will bring that power back.

Economic justice is deeply tied to social justice as well, and achieving both is crucial to true reconciliation. As a country, we’ve never had a meaningful conversation about race, allowing the bitter wounds of American racism to fester.  Coutless basic governmental systems enforce these racial inequities, and as we reshape those functions, we must also alleviate that burden from our country’s non-white population. Whether it’s the highway system being the basis of modern redlining practices or public universities having abysmal diversity rates, racism is baked into every public institution we have; The Green New Deal gives us a unique opportunity to address that painful history. Social justice isn’t just a moral imperative though, it can also be one of our greatest strengths for an economic and environmental recovery.  As much as we need a new generation of manufacturers and builders, we also need a new generation of innovators to meet our policy and technological challenges, and having a diverse workforce of educated young people in STEM, education, and public policy will give America the edge it needs. We can do this by making college more affordable and actively recruiting from disenfranchised communities, because diversity improves decision making and increases creativity in an era that demands innovation and bold solutions. 

In a time of record political polarization, environmental progressivism may seem like a strange candidate for a unifying message, but in reality it isn’t an extreme idea. Recent polling shows that 2/3rds of voters support a multi-trillion dollar climate and economic recovery plan, and 70% of Americans say the government isn’t doing enough to address climate change. Moreover, environmental messaging has historically been effective at raising the morale of Americans during times of extreme hardship. During World War 2, one of the most potent public campaigns positioned US national parks as a point of national pride and unity, a legacy that still exists today. When we can effectively message on what we have to gain, not what we have to lose, progressives win on these issues.

Beyond the granular policy details, a Green New Deal can transform America’s relationship with government and society. Many Americans have historically held a distrust for government services, and while those views may sometimes be vindicated, they can also produce a disdain for the people who benefit from those programs, like the so-called “welfare queens” of the Reagan era. By making policy that benefits people of disparate identities, you refute that perspective by calling out false narratives of separation. Even if someone doesn’t directly benefit from air quality improvements in California with more electric cars on road, they may benefit from car plants reopening in Michigan to meet that demand, or a lower burden on the healthcare system as fewer children are born with respiratory diseases. That message, that your success is tied to other people being happy too, and that access to government doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game would revolutionize American politics, and build an unprecedented coalition of supporters. By creating a more caring and empathic government, we create a more caring and empathetic society, and unite the country under the common cause of prosperity.

2020 alone has held more change than entire decades. We can fight for a return to an uneasy normalcy, or embrace a transformative new era of history making. Faced with a once in a generation opportunity to reshape the American political landscape, we can’t rely on conventional wisdom or cynicism, the world of centrist politics and incremental appeasement is quickly dying. A Green New Deal meets this emerging political landscape head on, creating a coalition of diverse interests that unites social, economic, and environmental justice under one banner. The reason coal miners in Kentucky, farmers in Central California, and bus drivers in Brooklyn feel left behind by their government is because they have been, and we can’t expect their support unless we prove that we’re here for them. We make good on our promise by investing trillions of dollars in three of America’s best assets: young people, the working class, and the environment. It’s time to stop watching history happen and start shaping it, it’s time for a policy instrument so bold and progressive it makes the sun rise in America again, it’s time for a Green New Deal.