This is the underlying philosophy (with thanks to Lakoff) for our new campaign, Progressive Values Are Moral Values.
To become a part of this campaign contact: moralvaluescampaign@hotmail.com. Or join ProgressiveValuesAreMoralValues yahoo group.
We will soon have a website, and we are working on a national database of progressive groups to network through. If you have suggestions, contact us.
See below for the goods...
We've got to root our values slogans in common tradition (i.e. religion, Constitution, liberal humanist heroes, esp. Americans, etc.) We are already doing this, but we need to think more explicitly about terms and phrases that come from these foundational sources. A good example, is "Loving your neighbor is a moral value," while a bad example would be, "Pursuing happiness is a moral value."--This just sounds hedonistic and counterculturey.
We must use terms and slogans that preclude dissent. We must use language the way the Right uses language, shamelessly and effectively. Examples of the right's framing of policy issues: "the death tax" (who could be for it with that name?), "the marriage penalty" (no thank you!), "culture of life" and "pro-life" (sounds good to me, I don't want to be pro-death!), partial-birth abortion (that just sounds gross!), "war on terror" (I'm all for it!), "tax relief" (what a relief!), and the biggest lie of all, "compassionate conservative" (a perfect match of my values!). "No Child Left Behind," "Healthy Skies" and "Clean Forests" are two great examples of the Bush administrations linguistic manipulations. The list goes on and on (anyone remember "welfare queens"?). Also, "right to work" state
We've got to stop trying to use logic, reason, facts, reality to argue with people who support Bush or conservative policies that hurt them. They facts just bounce off of the frame they have already accepted: "Bush is a good, honest Christian, ipso facto those things you are telling can't be true and you, and the liberal media, are mean-spirited and probably evil." Lakoff says that the facts bounce off of the frames.
The Left's use of framing has been less effective. We've got "pro-choice" (yeah, whatever), sensible gun laws (I'm not so sure...), and not much else. Terms like "affirmative action," "equal rights," and especially "liberal" have already slipped away from us through a sustained demonization by the Right.
The biggest term, "family values" in the `90s and "moral values," in the `00s must be reclaimed or a new one found. (Maybe we should explore finding a new term for our materials, but keep the name "Progressive Values Are Moral Values" or PVMV for short. Let's do more thinking about this and discuss with a-political or moderate to right-leaning colleagues and neighbors. Don't worry about the far Right--we'll never convince them of anything because they have been "frame-washed.")
So...we must find terms, like I mentioned in the first paragraph, that re-attach our progressive values to common traditions in Western religion, liberal humanism, the American Dream, etc. Our bumper stickers should say something like "A healthy nation is a moral value" and not "Socialized medicine is a moral value." Even at the risk of sounding vague, the phrase "healthy nation" is better as a frame (who could be against it?) and moreover will be tied to our name "P...V...A...M...V" or just bear the "V" with it. This will galvanize the Left, and keep the word "progressive" safe from the Right (since we can now longer use liberal in the public sphere).
Our goal should be to define ("progressive"), re-claim ("values") and re-frame (what those values are). We should start with broad, popular, acceptable ideas, like "a healthy nation" "a healthy planet" (as Howard Dean says, what unites us, not what divides us), or whatever ideas we think are most important before we even mention policies. The Right keeps demonizing whatever policies are put forth, even though a majority of the country supports the ideas that produce those policies. The nation as a whole supports sensible gun and drug laws, access to medical care, a social safety net, an activist gov't, a living wage, diplomacy-building, fiscal responsibility, etc., but the Right always shoots down the policy that might further those aims. (They also demonize a liberal form of gov't [since Reagan] by attacking the very idea of "big gov't.") So we have to galvanize support for the ideas, claim them as "progressive values," and once everyone agrees "a healthy nation is a moral value" it will be much easier to achieve a more equitable health care system. Furthermore, ten years from now, everyone will identify with the term "progressive" and support an openly progressive (i.e. Democratic or dare I say, liberal) agenda.
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