I grew up in a fundamentalist, charismatic church. We didn’t handle snakes, but there was speaking in tongues. People were “slain in the spirit.” Look it up. I probably should have been a preacher. I am good at preaching. Unfortunately, most people don’t like preaching. Now I am a baptized Episcopalian. As an Episcopalian, I have agreed to do a variety of things, like love my neighbor and repent of sins. One that is the same as the old days is to “share the Good News.” In that spirit, I wrote a post years ago called, “Where would Jesus live?” It sums up how I think my faith intersects with my advocacy for more housing. Recently, at Forbes, I posted about how absurd California is being about President Trump’s foray into “solving” the homelessness problem in California. On Facebook, someone responded to my post with a question. Maybe I should have been a comedy writer. All credit to Mel Brooks.

Facebook: Why is it so hard to get Californians (and other suburban Americans) to allow multi family housing to be constructed?

Me: That’s the right question.

We show up and say, “I know everything is pretty good in your town and your life right now. Don’t you want it to be a lot better?”

“Sure,” they say.

“Well,” we say, “the best and most sustainable way to welcome new growth is to build a lot more housing. It means things will change — but they’ll change for the better.”

“That apartment building down the street will make things better?” they ask. “But I can’t park now. And my kid walks to school that way. I heard its microhousing. Won’t that just be a big dorm for partying idiots.”

Trying not to face palm we say, “No. That new housing project will help your local cafe stay in business. That’s where those people will hang out. And it will be affordable to lots of people. You support your town being a sanctuary, right? This new project is a sanctuary for people who would have to live miles away. In fact, that barista you talk to every morning when you stop for coffee could live there.”

“Who do you work for?” they ask.

“Jesus,” we exclaim.

“Wait, what?”

The point is that spreading the Good News about housing isn’t easy. Lots of people take the housing discussion very seriously, but many really don’t want more housing. There’s a satirical post at McSweenys called, I Will Do Anything to End Homelessness Except Build More Homes. Most people on the left, especially in Seattle, wouldn’t say those words, but that’s essentially what they are advocating for when then push for taxes on housing, jobs, and rent control. All those things are great; just don’t build anything that I might see. As they say, it would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.