Dr. George Lakoff

4061 Starr King President's Lecture

Presenter: Dr. George Lakoff, author of Don't Think about an Elephant (Chalsea Green Publishing, 2004)

Sponsor: Starr King School for the Ministry

Prepared for UUA.org by: Mike McNaughton, Reporter; Margy Levine Young, Editor

"Don't think of an elephant," George Lakoff told us. Inevitably, we thought of an elephant. This illustrates how the political right wing has got to our brains by framing the issue their way before we even start the discussion.

It began in 1971 with a memo from Lewis Powell urging wealthy corporations to endow chairs, fund institutes, and support publications to counter what he saw as an "attack on the American free enterprise system." As a result, the political right wing has become remarkably successful at framing every issue their way.

For example, if Fox News asks you "Are you for or against tax relief?" no matter what your response, you never negate the perception that tax is an issue that we need "relief" from.

To take another example, Karl Rove declared "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of 9/11 and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." In trying to defend themselves, liberals supported the war.

George Lakoff continued, "When Nancy Pelosi asked me to look at the arguments on social security, I noticed many of the arguments had no facts. How did this happen?"

Conservatives use a set of fundamental frames, such as:

• The unfettered free market frame: the free market is natural and moral;
• The bloated big-government frame: big government is getting in the way; and
• The individual initiative frame: you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps; you can manage your money better than the government can.

Lakoff presented us with the Democratic response on social security, complete with facts and figures, and then asked: "Did you understand a word of it?" Facts matter, but so does the way they are framed. We assume people are rational, identify the most important issues, and set up programs to address these issues. Then we lose when people vote their values. Most voters share George Bush's values and they think they can trust him.

If political liberals respond by moving toward the political right, they alienate their base, give up their own values, and promote those of the Republicans.

There are many types of progressives, and each type thinks they are the only type. The result is a circular firing squad.

Are there values that can appeal to everyone and still be progressive? At what level can all progressives agree? Most progressives agree on education for all, health care for everyone, and sustainable energy. But it is not sufficient to argue the facts and leave out the values. How can progressives frame these issues? Lakoff suggests a number of ways.

One frame is that all progressives believe in the use of the common wealth for the common good so we can all be free to pursue our personal goals.

Another is that we need common property: parks, air, rivers, and water. The political right says if we get rid of government, we will all be free. But Lakoff suggests there is a law of conservation of governments: if we get rid of one type it will be replaced by another. For example, HMOs are private governments, often with no accountability.

Furthermore, when subsidies are paid to private companies, we transfer the common wealth from taxpayers to investors. Investors say they are taking a risk so they deserve a subsidy. We should change frames and ask: do we pay workers what they are worth?

In summary, Republicans activate their frame and talk to their base. In response, political liberals need to do polls on values, not just issues, and we need to talk the language of our base.

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