elephant hunting

don’t think of an elephant!
Know your values and frame the debate by George Lakoff

A blazingly quick read on how progressives (they used to be called liberals until right-wingers made “liberal” seem a dirty word) are being out foxed through the conservative movement’s mastery of language and thought.

Lakoff’s strict father (Right wing) / caring family (Progressive) dichotomy rings true as he paints the emotional base for the Right’s arguments — a base that has reversed the direction of this country in a mere 40 years.

He points out progressives’ conceptual gaps, such as on taxation. The right owns current mainstream thought on tax cuts. They aren’t cuts, they are tax relief. As Lakoff imagines, progressives need to enshrine a different view on taxes, such as:

Perhaps Bill Gates Sr. said it best. In arguing to keep the inheritance tax, he pointed out that he and Bill Jr. did not invent the Internet. They just used it — to make billions. There is no such thing as a self-made man. Every businessman has used the vast American infrastructure, which the taxpayers paid for, to make his money. He did not make his money alone. He used taxpayer infrastructure.

More on Lakoff: Wikipedia | web site (hasn’t been updated in a while) | Some of his work

Finally: For progressives to succeed in taking back this country, we need to stay true to our values and communicate them effectively. To accomplish this mission, we need to be aware of the traps that have often tripped up progressives in the past.