Words Are Important

February 17, 2009

by Jerry Lobdill

Words are important. That was never more apparent than in the 2004 Democratic primary race for the presidential nomination. George Lakoff tutored us all in this concept in his writings about framing. But we didn’t learn our lesson very well, it seems. We are now being bombarded with frames that bid for our belief like, perhaps, never before, and we seem to just let them stand.

A frame is a clever use of subliminally lurking concepts that have somehow been vetted erroneously by our conscious thought and which no longer possess nuances that we recognize as needing to be considered each time we hear the words of the frame. For example, take the word, “freedom”. I could write an entire essay on what a fine word this is for those who need to frame an odious proposal in such a way that we will buy it. But the point is that words like this stimulate warm positive feelings in us that lull us into accepting whatever else is said.

Now, with Barack Obama at the helm, the right wing is busy using frames again to get what they want. Let’s look at some examples.

We’re hearing that certain decisions Obama might make would show a tendency toward “pragmatism” and away from “idealism”. Pragmatism is a good thing and connotes realism. Idealism is bad and implies naivete. But really, are those knee-jerk associations valid? No they aren’t. Pragmatism is the art of getting a result you’d rather not have without trying to get what you want and saying you had to be pragmatic as an excuse. Idealism is knowing what you want and trying to get it. So why should we want Obama to be pragmatic? We didn’t elect him to cop out. What the right wants is for Obama to cop out and be proud of it. And they want us to think that’s the right thing to do.

And another example: The right says that our way of life is not negotiable. Period. End of story. The frame here is “our way of life”. It’s ours, and by definition, it is holy and it is our due, right? Well…maybe…but maybe we ought to rethink that. What if our way of life is perceived by those who are angry with us to be harmful to them? Our refusal to discuss what causes the hostility toward us means that it doesn’t matter to us what causes it, we intend to keep doing what we’ve been doing, regardless. The right doesn’t want us to hear whatever is motivating the hostility that is so obvious. They are afraid we might want to change our national priorities so that we eliminate the motivations that permit us to justify demonizing those we want to dominate.

We need to do some framing to bolster Obama when he makes decisions that can help to put us on a healthy and sustainable course for the hard days ahead. We cannot afford to be robbed by greedy fools any longer. We need to disarm the military-industrial complex and stop the saber rattling. We need to pay attention to the words that are being used and stop the fraud before it is too late. Words are important.

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Written by Jerry Lobdill · Filed Under Thoughts

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Letter to the Editor: Good Cars need Good Teams - by R. A. Letcher, PhD

Good cars need good teams -- designers, engineers, line workers… and learning-oriented managers by Robert A. Letcher, PhD [Author’s note: I submitted the following as a letter to the editor of The New York Times, after that paper carried an article under the headline, "To Fix Detroit, Obama Is Said to Drop Plan for ‘Car Czar’", 02/15/2009.] It is widely accepted that you can't win a horse race without a good horse. Of course, it helps to have a lot of money and a good plan for spending it. But, you still need a good horse. The authors reminded me of this when they wrote: “The companies’ plans are required to show progress in cutting long-term costs as a condition for keeping their loans.” I doubt GM and Chrysler can win this most important "automobile race" merely by having better accountants and more muscular negotiators: they still need a good "horse". That means the companies will have to show that their teams can still design and build cars that people are drawn to buy and willing to pay for: winners. I doubt they can. The problem isn't that they didn't know how to; it's that they don't know how to break out of the group-think that ensnarled them, their managers, their whole organizations, decades ago. I would be more optimistic, had the government also required the companies to include plans for transforming themselves into learning organizations. Aye, there’s the rub: learning entails risk-taking, not “yes people”.
Bob's Bail Out Plan by bobl-tlm
Fiscal Therapy - Getting the economy back on its feet, giving taxpayers a break, saving your retirement fund and your kid's college tuition? Done. And it won't cost you a penny.

For years now, whenever I've been invited to lecture students on how our tax system works, I have asked a simple question: What is the purpose of the United States of America? The most common answer, be it at prestigious universities, elite prep schools, rural community colleges, or crowded urban high schools, is this: To make people rich. This should come as no great surprise. For anyone born after, say, 1970, the world has been shaped by Ronald Reagan's remaking of government's relationship with private interests—a vision of lower taxes, less regulation, and maximum economic leeway for those at the top. In this view, the pursuit of wealth is the warp and weft of America; everything else will follow. By contrast, the preamble to the Constitution tells us the nation's reason for being in 52 words that can be reduced to six principles: society, justice, peace, security, commonwealth, and freedom. Individual riches don't make the list. They are a product of American society, not its guiding purpose. Progress, then, must begin with a return to the best of the values that created this Second American Republic—one born, it's worth remembering, from the failure of the Articles of Confederation, whose principles (weak government, unfettered capitalism) found their resurrection in the economic policies of the past three decades.
read more at Mother Jones
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