Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Published on Thursday, May 26, 2005 by Guerrilla News Network

Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Beyond Lakoff¹s Strict Father vs. Nurturant Parent, A Strong Community Manifesto

by Frances Moore Lappé

George Lakoff¹s new best-seller Don¹t Think of an Elephant has been heralded as the ³bible² for battered progressives searching for direction in the post-election doldrums. Lakoff himself has become the Left¹s answer to Frank Luntz, the focus-group genius behind the branding of Bush¹s ³death tax,² ³Clear Skies² and ³Healthy Forests² initiatives.

³Frames,² according to Lakoff, are the key to understanding how political ideas are received. Human beings don¹t absorb information as raw material; we sift input through frames of meaning carried in the language we use.

Lakoff¹s central idea is that conservatives see the world through a ³strict father² frame emphasizing discipline, self-reliance, forceful defense, while progressives see the world through a ³nurturant parent² frame
The Right, Lakoff points out, is extremely good at selling their policies in clear, easy to understand ³strict father² frames. Progressives, on the other hand, too often seem to offer laundry lists of issues lacking any overarching moral framework.

So, it¹s easy to see why progressives are rallying around Lakoff¹s call to arms. Since polls show majorities actually agree with the progressive agenda on many key issues, including corporate power, the environment and abortion, focusing on ³framing² issues in ways that Americans can understand them seems like the answer they¹ve been praying for. Certainly, much of Lakoff¹s advice about communicating progressive ideas is powerfully insightful and right on target.

But two big dangers loom...cont'd

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0526-28.htm


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Especially when the Rightwing so obviously isn't adult at all.