In November 2018, like so many Americans, I watched the midterm elections like a hawk. I paid special attention to Iowa’s election as I watched the numbers roll in from my tiny D.C. studio apartment surrounded by the packed boxes that would join me in my move to the Tall Corn state later that month. Iowa had flipped two house seats and had just voted for the first duly elected female governor which felt promising. I was excited to be moving to a purple state.
All seemed well as I adjusted to “Iowa Nice”, taking a short break from all things political after 2 years at faith-based nonprofits in DC working for progressive policies. I recharged then participated fully in the caucus season and a year ago last week started working at Iowa IPL.
The 2020 legislative session was disjointed and cut short before anything could really be done, yet Republicans after the primary managed to cut the wings off their own State Secretary Paul Pate. Pate was so successful that instead of congratulating him and the county auditors for their creativity and care, our state legislature changed law to prevent it from happening in our General Election.
When I moved here, I believed that Iowa was purple under conservative leadership. The 2020 General Election flipped back seats that had flipped in 2018 and increased Republican seats across Iowa. But as we start down the final stretch of this legislative session, it can seem like extreme conservatives are taking ideological control of Iowa.
Many Iowans anticipated the 2021 session would start by providing aid and relief to Iowans in need due to the ongoing pandemic. Instead, it started with trying to bring back the death penalty. While we waited on bi-partisan leadership for action on COVID, economic recovery, and environmental solutions, bills piled up going after our LGBTQIA+ siblings (15 of them), trying to bar Iowa native Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project from being taught in school, attacking tenure at Iowa’s state colleges, and passing a voter suppression law unsupported by a majority of county auditors. Even the business community is calling out the problems of this breathtaking and unrelenting effort to move our state into a reactionary ideological conservatism. For me, these and so many other bills fail my test of “are they helping us better love our neighbors?”
It’s disheartening to witness and tempting to feel hopeless about the polarized politics in our state right now. I find myself praying that people will do the right thing and leave bills in committee. When I packed my bags to move to a purple state, I wasn’t prepared for the politics that have dramatically unfolded in Iowa. As a new Iowan, I fully understand the business community’s concern about how these political moves are likely to hurt our ability to recruit new Iowans.
As a person of faith and United Methodist Deaconess called to a lifetime of love, justice, and service, I am committed to kin-dom building work. Environmental justice is a vital part of kin-dom building as we create an equitable environment for all of creation. No one is more surprised than I am that I have found myself called to do that work in Iowa. By continuing to advocate for and uplift Iowan voices that have been pushed to the margins or silenced by society, hearts and minds may change or perhaps a small layer of distrust from politicization is peeled back. It’s hard and sometimes not very fruitful work given the audience, yet when I work with our Called to Climate Action student leaders I feel hopeful. Being a part of our larger coalitions who are having discussions around diversity, equity, and inclusivity as a lens gives me hope going forward.
Hope is something that I lightly hold. When we exist in a community larger than ourselves, others can step up when others of us need rejuvenation. As a person of faith, I admit that sometimes I have to let others hold my hope for me. That’s one of the bright spots of Iowa IPL; as a collective of Iowans of faith and conscience, we have thousands of supporters that take climate action when others just aren’t able. In the midst of darkness, Iowa IPL shines a light in our state on what is right and moral, rooted in faith. We are able to model living into abundance rather than scarcity as we seek climate action. I’m especially proud of the conversations we are having at Iowa IPL on what to do as an environmental justice non-profit that actively tries to live into intersectional justice in a state that sees climate change as a wedge issue.
I struggle most days to understand how my new home goes from “Fields of Opportunity” to such extreme positions that feel like Iowa intends to be a welcoming place for only those who espouse a very particular political identity. I know that I am not alone in this.
We are in a crisis and need climate action now. It’s never been so important to work for environmental justice to help create an equitable, sustainable world that is more abundant and joyful than it is now. Uplifting our morals and values as Iowans of faith and conscience is vital to the conversation when it comes to being done at local, state, and national levels. I find hope in that together we are continuing to fight, advocate, agitate, and call for innovative solutions and smart government policy for climate and justice in our state for all Iowans. In spite of some extreme partisanship at the State House, we are still working on bi-partisan solutions for clean energy. I still feel Iowa is a purple state, but not as some halfway goal for partisan politics. I’m working for an Iowa that welcomes a diversity of ideas and identities. Purple is a color of hope and anticipation. I’m committed to making Iowa the “Fields of Opportunity” for equity and justice rooted in loving our neighbors.