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Don’t
Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate
Review by Karen Hart
by
George Lakoff, 2004 (Paperback) ISBN 1-931498-71-7
Other publications: Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think,
2002;
Metaphors We Live By, 2003; How Democrats and Progressives Can Win (DVD)
This must-read is a quick 119 pages from
the author often quoted by Colorado State Senator Ken Gordon. I urge you to pick
up extra copies of this $10 gem and share these insights with the frustrated
Dems in your social network. Lakoff makes sense of the seeming disconnect between
the Con job’s walk and talk, explaining the "strict father" family
model at the root of the evil. Focus on the Family’s James Dobson—the
cartoon cop obsessed with SpongeBob’s sex life—made millions off the
primer, Dare to Discipline. This model sets the all-powerful patriarch over his
submissive wife and inherently bad children to "discipline" them for
success in a dangerous zero-sum world.
Once we understand the ideology behind the
illogic exploited by Christian and capitalist fundamentalists, we can understand
the vitriol against feminists and gays (who threaten the father’s absolute
control in enforcing rigid codes of conduct) and liberal abortion and welfare
policies (which enable undisciplined conduct). Declaring war—most recently
against the conveniently vague "terrorists"—exploits this model
to quash dissent at home and impose the simplistic dichotomy of "with us" allies
or "against us" evildoers abroad. When fear drives foreign policy,
Lakoff warns, "metaphors can kill."
What’s in a frame?
Lakoff challenged his Cal Berkeley students
to banish thoughts of an elephant once he had planted the image in their brains.
Likewise, well-constructed frames (such as "market discipline") which
evoke established inferences (efficiency, competition) trump inconvenient facts
(bailouts, subsidies and fraud) which challenge them, leading many to vote their
identity against their interests. Since the truth alone will not set us free,
Progressives must combine reality with reframed rhetoric. Lakoff warns against
using the Regressive terms which activate misleading frames, uncoupling tort
from "reform" and tax from "relief". Rather than moving to
the right, Lakoff advises Dems to change our vocabulary—not our values—and
satisfy voters’ preference for "principles over programs." Suggestions
include casting Taxes (and education or healthcare spending) as Investments in
our future; Ken Gordon has embraced this strategy in his anti-TABOR arguments.
What’s a Dem to do?
Lakoff cautions against emotional attacks,
and illustrates the effectiveness of using humor and turning the regressive frames
against them. Given the promotion of clear-cutting in the Healthy Forests Initiative,
he suggests labeling this policy "no tree left behind." I’m encouraged
by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin’s branding privitization as "retirement
roulette" and the Senate Dems’ "putting [abortion] prevention
first" bill (S 20). Lakoff advocates foundation funding in the long-term
fight against the Red menace and provides much of his research on the Rockridge
Institute website below.
He encourages progressives to unite around the values that made America
great and "articulate those values loud and clear" to take back the
language and the country we love.
http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/people/lakoff