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flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
Mon Jan 16, 2017, 07:25 PM Jan 2017

Dont think of a rampaging elephant: Linguist George Lakoff explains how the Dems helped elect tRump

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/15/dont-think-of-a-rampaging-elephant-linguist-george-lakoff-explains-how-the-democrats-helped-elect-trump/

------ snip of long article
There’s something more basic underlying all this, isn’t there? From “Moral Politics” on you’ve been hammering on liberals’ failure to claim and proclaim their own values.

All progressives and liberals have a moral worldview, what I described as the nurturant-parent worldview. When applied to politics it goes like this: Citizens care about other citizens, they have empathy for other citizens, and the work of the government is to provide public resources for everybody. Public resources, from the very beginning of our country, not only apply to each private citizen, but they also apply to business. From the very beginning we had public roads and bridges and public education, we had a national bank, and the patent office for businesses, and interstate commerce laws for business, and so on. And a judicial system that’s mostly used for business.

Since then the government has supported business even more, especially through the promotion of scientific research, the development of pharmaceuticals, computer science, support of public research and public universities. The Internet began as ARPANET, is in the Defense Department. Think about satellite communication — that was made possible by NASA and NOAA. Very important things we did. What about things like GPS systems and cell phones? Our government is maintaining not just our cell phones, but the world economic system which all uses GPS systems and cell phones.

People don’t see the role of public resources, which are there to run the world economy, to help you in your everyday life, to give you communications, like this interview right now. This is just something that’s never said. When I say this to progressives, they say, “Well, of course that’s true, isn’t that obvious?” The answer is no. It is not obvious, because the next question I ask is, “Have you ever said it?” And the answer is no. The question after that is, “Will you go out from now on and say it?” And I don’t get enthusiastic “Yes!” answers.

People need to know this and it needs to be said all the time. It needs to be said about every single business. The person who has done best at it has been Elizabeth Warren. When Obama tried to use the same message he got it wrong, he said if you have a business you didn’t build that, and then he got attacked and he dropped it. But in fact this is something that does need to be out there.

There are other things that need to be said that progressives don’t say because they don’t really understand how framing works. Framing is not obvious. People read “Don’t Think of an Elephant,” they got some of the ideas, but when they tried to apply it, it turned out it’s not so easy to apply. You need some training to do it, and you need some ideas.
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Dont think of a rampaging elephant: Linguist George Lakoff explains how the Dems helped elect tRump (Original Post) flamingdem Jan 2017 OP
Best and most thought provking for all Dems I've read in ages stuffmatters Jan 2017 #1
Definitely a good take on why some ostensibly vote against their best interests. earthshine Jan 2017 #2
And very precise in how to reframe Repub tribalisms twds more democratic direction. stuffmatters Jan 2017 #3
There's actually a free MOOC on political framing. Hortensis Jan 2017 #4
How do you get people to listen... oegthe Jan 2017 #5

stuffmatters

(2,574 posts)
1. Best and most thought provking for all Dems I've read in ages
Tue Jan 17, 2017, 04:45 AM
Jan 2017

It's long and it's great, so good at connecting the deep dots.

 

earthshine

(1,642 posts)
2. Definitely a good take on why some ostensibly vote against their best interests.
Tue Jan 17, 2017, 08:08 AM
Jan 2017

A bit long, but well-written. A good read over morning coffee.

stuffmatters

(2,574 posts)
3. And very precise in how to reframe Repub tribalisms twds more democratic direction.
Tue Jan 17, 2017, 07:35 PM
Jan 2017

I'm going to try it out on my Repub friends and my older sister.

I've been thinking about this for a long time, ever since I once had a conversation with my lifetime Repub friend about Repubs being so intent on giving away govt land. I based it on my anger that this land belongs to all of us, that our ancestors fought wars to
protect it, that our taxes have paid for generations to maintain it. Somehow explaining privatizing "the commons" that way (to my usually impenetrable friend), made some real headway. She actually got agitated at the idea of privatization.

There are so many ways this reframing can be done, should have been done by our party long ago. But we can do it just in our ordinary conversations with repubs, explaining how democracy based capitalism vs corporate based capitalism, will keep them and their family and THEIR Country safe..

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
4. There's actually a free MOOC on political framing.
Wed Jan 18, 2017, 03:30 AM
Jan 2017

Lakoff is among its recommended reading.

Framing: How Politicians Debate: The game of framing and reframing. Analyze how politicians debate and what the underlying patterns are in the game of framing and reframing.

https://www.edx.org/course/framing-how-politicians-debate-delftx-frame101x

oegthe

(40 posts)
5. How do you get people to listen...
Wed Jan 18, 2017, 03:36 PM
Jan 2017

I agree with most of Lakoff's analysis. I remember reading him when "death taxes" came into being, and even NPR was referring to "death taxes."

However, I don't understand how progressives can frame the debate when we're competing with Fox News, right-wing talk radio (including Christian radio stations), and the major news networks and newspapers, which have proved more than willing to allow the right wing to frame the narrative for 30 years at least. We're trying to communicate with people completely saturated with right-wing propaganda.

And I know of right-wingers who are already educated in framing, at least subliminally. The Right is onto Lakoff.

And Lakoff also says "one thing strict fathers can’t do is betray trust." In my view, this isn't quite right. The "strict father" himself defines right and wrong. Right and wrong change at the whim of the strict father. How else to explain the acceptance by the right-wing public of their politicians' utter hypocrisy -

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