[update] FYI I changed the diary's name to something more general.
In being horrified at the success with which the Republicans deployed a huge pack of lies to regain control of the House, and being disturbed by all the back and forth recriminations and disunity I'm seeing at this site, I keep thinking about George Lakoff's book, Don't Think of an Elephant, which gave me a tremendous "ah ha" moment a few years ago.
I am writing this in attempt to get Progressives on the same page again, and also to give myself some hope that there IS a way to avoid losing fights with the despicable Republican majority in Congress.
We ignore Lakoff's information at our own peril.
The first part of this diary explains Lakoff's major thesis, which is that we all have a model of the country as a family. Conservatives have a strict father model and progressives have a nurturant family model. These models produce different policy prescriptions as you might imagine. The rest of the diary provides the list of 11 things Progressives can do to win again.
Lakoff's basic argument is this: we see this country as a family, but we don't all see it as the same kind of family, and we have different values according to what kind of family model we use.
Conservatives have the strict father model of the family, and approach the world as a dangerous place. They think that what the world needs is a strict father who can do the following (p. 7):
- Protect the family in a dangerous world.
- Support the family in a difficult world.
- Teach children right from wrong.
Only a strict father can do these things because he is a moral authority. He is the only one who can teach the kids obedience, and that obedience must be won through painful punishment because kids are not to be trusted.
Conservatives feel that without such punishment, the children will never learn discipline, which is what they need in this world to become prosperous and self-reliant.
Here's how it goes: the good people have self discipline, which is evident in their prosperity, so they deserve a tax cut. Think about how the Republicans are framing the Bush tax cut extension. Don't they say that the rich somehow deserve them? That's not a fact-based argument, it's a moral one.
Progressives, on the other hand, have the nurturing family model of the family, and, by extension, the country. This view is gender neutral, for one, since both parents are responsible for raising the children, who are inherently good.
Nurturance means empathy and responsibility for taking care of the child. It means being strong, competent, and working hard.
First, if you empathize with your child, you will provide protection
(snip)
Second,if you empathize with your child, you will want your child to be fulfilled in life, to be a happy person. And if you are an unhappy, unfulfilled person yourself, you are not are going to want people to be happier than you are. The Dalai Lama teaches us this. Therefore, it is your moral responsibility to be a happy, fulfilled person. Your moral responsibility. Furthermore, it is your moral responsibility to be a happy, fulfilled person who wants others to be happy. That is part of what nurturing family life is all about.
These obviously aren't the only progressive values. Others include: (see pages 12-13)Freedom, opportunity, prosperity, fairness, open, two-way communication, community building, service to the community, cooperation and trust.
When was the last time you heard Beck, Hannity or Limbaugh saying anything at all that reflected that they value community or are even happy people to begin with? NEVER. That's because they're all basically miserable bastards and the people who listen to them are sharing in their misery IMHO.
Lakoff also finds that there are six types of progressives. We need to remember that we are not monolithic so we can look past our differences and unite
- Socioeconomic progressives
- Identity politics progressives
- Environmentalists
- Civil Liberties progressives
- Spiritual progressives
- Antiauthoritarians
This is perhaps too basic of a distillation, but I wanted to give you the background for the list of eleven things that Lakoff believes we can do to make sure the Republicans don't keeping winning these battles.
Here are the eleven things Progressives can do:
First, recognize what conservatives have done right and where Progressives have missed the boat.
I for one was horrified throughout most of the election to watch both local and national-level Democrats completely fail at framing their values, which meant that the Republicans won with a bunch of well-framed LIES. The only one in my area who did a really good job at framing was Andrew Cuomo, and look at his results.
We have to admit that they framed their issues better than we did. Frankly, hardly any Democrats did this the last time. I heard Congressman Tonko on our local public radio station this morning, and he was asked about the framing problems. He blamed the White House for a lack of cohesive message, but I blame them all.
Second, remember "Don't think of an elephant."
By this Lakoff means that if you repeat their frame, you just reinforce it. How many times have people around here used "Obamacare" in referring to Health Care Reform? That is THEIR frame. The problem is that WE don't have our own. Well, lets get one!
Third, the truth alone will not set you free.
I was tempted to put this in caps because I want to YELL it!! We can't keep thinking over and over again, that if we just explain our side enough to people they will get it and come over to our side! Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. You need to FRAME the truth effectively for people to listen to it.
Fourth, you need to speak from your moral perspective at all times.
Basically, drop the policy wonk language (President Obama, are you listening to this one???). Get clear on your values, and speak from your values.
Fifth, understand where conservatives are coming from.
Be clear on their strict father morality and its policy consequences. Try to predict what they will say. Once you have this one, it's pretty easy. In fact, it would be fun for someone to do a prediction diary using Lakoff.
Sixth, think strategically across issue areas
This means large moral goals, and not programs. Moral goals.
Seventh, think about the consequences of proposals. Form progressive slippery slope initiatives.
We can get them at their own game.
Eighth, remember that voters vote their identity and their values, which need not coincide with their self-interest.
This element of our culture is really hard for me to understand, but it plays out time after time in the elections. Think about the Midwest during this election.
Ninth, unite! And cooperate!Here's how: remember the six modes of progressive thought: (1) socioeconomic, (2)identity politics,(3) environmentalist, (4) civil libertarian, (5) spiritualist, (6) antiauthoritarian. Notice which of these modes of thought you use most often - where you fall on the spectrum and where the people you talk to fall on the spectrum. Then rise above your own mode of thought and start thinking and talking from shared progressive values.
We could really use to work on this point here.
Tenth, be proactive, not reactive. Play offense, not defense.
Basically, practice framing the issues all the time, every day.
Eleventh, speak to the progressive base in order to active the nurturant model of "swing voters." Don't move to the right.
AMEN. Here's why rightward movement hurts: (hope you're still listening Mr. President):
It alienates the progressive base and it helps conservatives by activating their model in swing voters.
We need to start with ourselves first, but really we must get the entire Democratic Party back on board with framing 101. Otherwise, the Republicans are going to continue to use their superior framing skills to keep winning on behalf of the "haves" in this country, and we are all going to suffer for it.
We have to acknowledge our own failures yes, but really, lets move forward folks. Here's a model we can use. Lets unite instead of constantly discussing which Democrat is bad, or how President Obama is bad or screwed up or is not a progressive, or whatever.
If we lose in 2010 we are going to be in for another era of hell. Lets work with the army we have and not the army we wish we had, and yes I get the irony of that statement. We need to start uniting NOW.