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Re: Lakoff
I've seen Lakoff speak several times in the year running up to the 2004 elections, read his books, talked with conservative and liberal activists about his ideas. Everyone agrees with his premises and conclusions: The right and left share the same values; we just prioritize them differently. When Dems talk programs and Republicans talk values, values win. Learning to articulate your values in a way that resonates and invokes frames of reference is just... competence. Not much discussed in his books is the notion of an infrastructure for ideas. That billions have been poured into conservative think tanks, media, and academe to systematically develop and promulgate a rigorous ideology. Nothing equivalent has been done by the left. One exception may be the new Rockridge Institute, a small think tank of which Lakoff is a member. http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/ At the moment, I'm reading "Building the Shining City : A Grassroots Lobbying Guide for Christian Activists" by Christian Voice, available for a penny and postage on Amazon. isbn 0972153500. While the left is passing out Lakoff's guide to rhetoric, the right is teaching pragmatics: phone trees, letters to editors, your duties as a Christian Citizen, letter writing, church and precinct organization. It's short, terse, simple, with pictures and examples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/offer-listing/0972153500/ I'm with you, Doc. What we say is as important as being heard. And I'm not convinced American society, let alone the blogosphere, is having that conversation about our beliefs and for what we stand as people and a nation.
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