My dad is also pretty conservative. That grilling I
I would be lying if I said this disagreement doesn’t get to my head sometimes. At best, it’s just a little confusing. I
apron (in his defense, it was a gift!), and I’ve never seen
can’t imagine, within my own liberal bubble, how he can’t
him respond to the mention of anyone’s name with as much
be filled with the same feeling of overwhelming dread and
revulsion as he does to Hillary Clinton. On a trip to Wash-
desire to see substantial changes made to the way we treat
ington, D.C. when I was a kid, he jokingly blamed every-
the planet.
thing from long lines at national monuments to gum on the street on the sitting president. (Thanks, Obama!) One Friday a few weeks ago, I stayed the night at my
Then I started to think, “What if he doesn’t need to be?” A few years ago the family Ford Escape was stolen out of the driveway of my childhood home. A month later, with no car to be found, Dad bought a used Subaru Forester.
the last few minutes of Maher’s weekly broadcast. My dad
I remember remarking that the Forester called itself a
sat down across the room with an amaretto. Now, before
“PZEV,” or a “Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle.” In other
you accuse me of forcing my father to watch liberal TV, let
words, for all I knew it was an extension cord short of being
me say that he does watch the show without me from time
a hybrid car, and I fancied that a pretty progressive move.
to time. Additionally, I would argue the amount of FOX
Not to mention he bought it used. Was my dad contributing
News I have to sit through makes this even.
to cutting emissions purely on accident?
That night, Maher was in the middle of one of his usual
The 2009 Subaru Forester got about 26 miles to every
rants on his most fervent subject: climate change. He began
gallon on the highway, and for a man who commutes every
by questioning why America is “the only civilized nation”
day by car, this was very important. The same can be said
still boasting a “major party” that doesn’t believe in climate
about the LED lights throughout the house that cut back
change, and then went on to compare Clinton and Trump’s
on the electricity bills. When I thought about it, I realized
stances on the environment. Dad cracked a snide remark
that nearly every appliance in the house is considered for its
about Hillary’s emails.
energy, or rather cost, efficiency.
My dad does not believe in climate change. Sorry. Fake news. He does believe in climate change. The
Climate, whether you believe the information that’s out there, is a scary reality. When I think about it, it must be
climate is changing all right, but according to him, “not any
really sweet living in a world you don’t have to worry about;
faster or worse than it has been for millions of years.” In
I’d love to live in that world. Not everyone is going to be
other words, he believes that humans do not contribute to
sold on the facts until it affects their backyards, but the way
the climate. And he’s not alone! Upon mentioning writing
we package sustainability practices can convince people to
this piece to a number of friends, I was shocked how many
reduce their footprint for their own lives if not the planet.
people could relate. One mentioned an opinionated aunt saying, “We haven’t had real debates on it, I’ve just accepted the fact that I don’t wanna deal with her ideas.”
—BR AN DON SA LOY
51 B LUSH MAGFIT.COM
dad’s house on Long Island and flipped on HBO to catch
SPRIN G 2017 / CULTURE
mentioned before is done in a “What Would Reagan Do?”