In 2017, only 7 months since the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia burst into Chaos. Groups of Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists flooded the streets, chanting “White Lives Matter” and “Blood and Soil.” The alt-right group was met by a group of counter-protesters, defending the choices of the left and the city. Suddenly, a car rammed into the counter-protesting crowd, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. In response to the rally, the President of the United States, while condemning the neo-Nazis, claimed that “both sides” were responsible for the hate and bigotry shown at the rally.
Watching from my home, as a non-politically involved individual, I was terrified to see what was happening. I was terrified seeing the unapologetic racism coming from the white supremacists, and the rapid “both sides” defense from the President. After that day, I knew that I was privileged to stay uninvolved, and if I did not do something, I was betraying the thousands of people injured and killed at events like the one I was watching take place.
After watching the events of that day unfold, I began to research politics at a level I never had before. I began reading books, carefully following the news, watching speeches, and text banking and phone banking for candidates all over the nation. In fact, after the 2018 Parkland Shooting, I attended the March For Our Lives march going on in Columbia, SC. One day in 2019, I skipped school to watch Beto O’Rourke speak at the local college. I read books like How To Be An Anti-Racist by Ibraham X. Kendi, Success and Luck by Robert Frank. Finally, a year and a half later, in the spring of 2019, I found myself applying for jobs and internships under different political candidates running in South Carolina. Eventually, I landed myself a job working for Jaime Harrison and his campaign.
In The Heart of Sustainability by Andres Edwards, an award-winning author and educator, Edwards introduces the three Es of Sustainability: Ecology, Economy, and Equity, while also adding his own, Education. He follows this up by introducing the three Cs of sustainability: Consciousness, Creativity, and Compassion, again adding his own, Connection.
The three Cs mentioned in the book were the very things that drove me to invest my time in politics. Watching what happened in Charlottesville, my consciousness awoke. While investing in politics, I had to be more engaged in what I was doing. Everything I read, watched or saw had to be perceived through critical awareness and critical thought. Compassion drove my interest. If watching the protests had not reached my heart and driven me to fight for the policies that I thought were based around compassion, such as helping the disenfranchised and fighting to end poverty through self-sacrifices and the common good, then my journey into politics and the statewide campaign would have never occurred. Creativity, while not central to the overarching goal, was important in every action I took on the campaign. The questions in politics and on a campaign are always “How?” questions. How do I reach these people? How do I solve this problem? How do I convince people that this is the right course of action? If those questions are to be answered, creativity is vital. The fourth C that Edwards mentions, the one he believes should be added, is possibly the most important value in sustainability: Connection. Without connection, politics has no meaning. It has no value and no purpose. Politics and Sustainability are rooted in connection. Compassion is rooted in connection. Consciousness is rooted in connection. Everything is rooted in connection.
In a way, the Harrison campaign was a direct response to the three Es: It was a campaign built on facing climate change and establishing a system of Environmental Justice, it was a campaign built on combating the racial and educational injustices that lead to the growing inequity that our society now faces, and it was a campaign built on building an economy that worked for everyone, not just the super-wealthy. The three Es were central to the race we ran and the policies we pushed, but so was the fourth: Education. As someone who formally avoided politics, the protests in Virginia inspired me to become politically educated. I took classes on government, I watched videos and read essays, and I did the things I listed earlier: reading the news, reading books, watching speeches, and talking to voters. That education not only inspired me to fight for the environment, for equity, and for a stable economy, but it also was the education we were fighting to bring to others. As part of the campaign, one of my main jobs
was outreach. I would reach out to voters all over the state, with any political beliefs, and help explain to them why what we wanted is important. In a way, we were both fighting for better education, and attempting to help educate those who were willing to learn.
The campaign, and the work that I invested in, despite our loss, showed me the value of the three Es and the three Cs. It showed me why connection and compassion matter as much as they do, and it showed me how they lead to the ecological, equitable, and economical sustainability we need. Now, as a student majoring in Political Science, I want to continue the work that I have been dedicated to. I want to work with grassroots organizations and environmental groups to try and create and pass legislation that can save lives. One day, even, I would like to join Congress and be able to present and vote on the bills myself. I hope that I am able to save the lives the government has ignored for so long. The question I had to ask myself when I saw the Charlottesville riots occur is the question I ask you now: What are you going to do about it? How are you to use whatever privilege you may possess, be it education, money, or time, to help those less fortunate than you?
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