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Saturday, October 14, 2017

Electric Republican


A fellow EV-advocate just shared an exchange that he had with a Republican friend of his. Without going into detail, I'll just say that the EV-advocate was attacking his Republican friend for not supporting EVs.

I believe that a maligned assault, like the one that this EV-advocate was undertaking, has very little chance of success. In fact, it is more likely to cause a backfire effect and the attacked-person will just entrench deeper into their current belief and further shield themselves from anything that contradicts their current ideology.

So to all my EV advocate friends, I want to say, honey works better than vinegar.

Use tact, not attacks.
If you want to talk to someone, find out what is important to them. See things from their perspective, even if it is radically different from your own. Their reasons for doing things don't have to be the same as yours. Agreeing on what the right thing is, that is what's important.

If you say things like "The Republican Party is wrong" then EVs become a tribalism symbol. When this happens, the facts no longer matter and you no longer have any ability to influence them.

Instead of attacking, try listening. After listening, let's say that you learned that jobs and patriotism are important to them; if you have, then you could then try a tact like this:

Which political party uses smartphones?
Which one uses the internet?
What about computers, Google, YouTube...

The answer is both political parties (or all of them).

These technologies don't have a political party. And I don't think electric cars should have a political party either. Every American, and especially every Republican, should drive an Electric car. Why 'especially Republicans'? Because these cars are fueled with American made energy and that means more American jobs. When you spend money on electricity, it goes to the local power plant and your neighbor that works at the utility repairing downed power lines, instead of the rich ruling families in the Middle East.

And Electric Cars are made by American companies. GM and Ford have both made commitments to invest heavily in EVs. Tesla is an American company and they are winning market share from German and Japenese luxury car makers. They are shipping cars around the world; cars that are built in the US. That, again, means more American jobs.

As Victor Hugo said, "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come." Things happen when the time and place are right. The time for EVs is now. If the time is now, where is the place going to be? I want the place to be here. EVs are inevitable. If the place is not here, it will still happen and it will be someplace else. If it's someplace else, they will get the manufacturing plants and they will get the jobs and we'll be buying from them. The move to electrify transportation is a tidal wave; we can surf it or be crushed by it. The choice is yours.

The move to electrify transportation is a tidal wave; we can surf it or be crushed by it. The choice is yours.
So to answer "Why especially Republicans?" Because the Republican party supports jobs, it supports America's growth and, most importantly, it is the party of patriotism and driving an American made, American fueled car is patriotic.

http://ts.la/patrick7819

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