The Mackinac Center for Public Policy defines the Overton Window as “a model for understanding how ideas in society change over time and influence politics.” It’s a concept that identifies society’s norms and expectations about public policy and other civic behaviors. Within the Window are the norms that are agreed to and supported by our society. Outside the Window are behaviors that are different and sometimes contrary to how we think and act. An important point is that the Overton Window can shift over time as society evolves in its collective thinking.
I’ve been writing a lot about the shifts in attitudes, expectations, and norms that need to happen as we move deeper into climate change. A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting with a group of friends sitting on the back porch overlooking the somewhat brown lawn. My friend explained that there was a water restriction in place. All around the neighborhood, the usually green and well-trimmed lawns were showing signs of stress.
This was a new reality caused by having less rainfall than normal where I live. My friends and I were gathering in person for the first time since the pandemic, creating the luxury of deeper conversations over an extended period. This allowed us to reflect on other changes in expectations that might be taking place given the changes in weather patterns.
Limits and the Overton Window
Will the expectation of having water at our disposal, energy when we want it, greener gardens and neighborhoods, convenient consumer patterns, and even a healthy diet need to shift? Will it shift into something with greater consciousness and connection to the reality of climate change? The answer is an emphatic yes.
Climate change is a prolonged disruption to our current Overton Window. It will cause our thinking, norms, and behaviors to shift dramatically over time.
As we saw in our community example last week, events, a prolonged disaster, or a courageous champion of a new idea can cause an evolution in how we collectively think and act. In the United States, we tend to defy limits and see them as a challenge to overcome. Yet today, we’re confronted with and disturbed by limits from climate change and other disruptions.
Nature, however, taps the power of limits. Nature uses limits to restrict what can grow in an ecosystem. Instead, Nature finds the species and plants that will thrive within those limits. For example, a Zone 3 cold weather climate has limits in terms of moisture, soil conditions, and other aspects, and yet many plants thrive within these limits.
New tests of our current Overton Window
Our collective Overton Window is about to be tested. We need to recognize that we’re being called to shift our norms, expectations, and behaviors.
How will the feedback we get from Nature, including changing weather patterns, help us evolve our current Overton Window? Will we react with resistance or reluctantly shift our expectations? Will the journey be painful or an exciting adventure?
A watering ban and a neighborhood shifting its definition of the “perfect lawn” are micro-examples of the larger shifts we are being called to make because of climate change. For my friends that day, sitting on the back porch and noticing the change in full view was the first step.
We described what was changing and how we felt about the change. We reflected on letting go of our green lawns and grieved the loss of something that was known and expected. We wondered what norms and expectations would be formed as a result of the shift.
At that moment, we were on a journey of new viewpoints and discoveries. I invite you to do the same. What is shifting in your world? How will it change you and the community around you?
Deep insights