Recommended book

[pegkerr]

Everybody must go read Moral Politics: How Conservatives and Liberals Think by George Lakoff, especially as we're all musing about how on earth the conservatives somehow stole the concept of "values" for their very own. We need to get it back. Thanks for lending it to me, minnehaha. [I plan to return it tonight after karate. Will one of you be home at about 7:30?]

Edited to add: Here is a summary of the book by the author. Thanks, minnehaha B.!

Comments

[cmpriest.livejournal.com]

i read an article on a similar subject by Lakoff awhile back and loved it.
must go add that book to my wishlist ...

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

If no one is home, drop it in the mail slot.

(Told you it was a good book.)

B

[bordergold.livejournal.com]

OT, but after losing my first copy of your book in a tragic incident involving a very large pot of coffee, my new copy came in today! It is very exciting. I can't wait to reread :)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Oh, no! Well, drink your coffee in a commuter cup as you read this copy.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Here's a link that summarizes the book: <http://www.wwcd.org/issues/lakoff.html>.

B

Example of discourse framing

[tomkertes.livejournal.com]

The following is an example of reframing and recentering the Reform Democrat agenda through discourse framing:

Draft Freedom: Stand up for freedom from the draft. (http://draftfreedom.org)


1. Does not "look" anti-war (recenters our positions)
2. Targeted outside of the liberal (Reform Democrat) wing of politics - reaches new people
2. Red-white-blue patriotic feel to the site (but not on defensive terms)
4. No "draft resistance", "draft dodgers" - instead frames the issue on drafts as about freedom and American values
5. Attempts to reframe the war debate to "we oppose the draft" -- which can be bridge for reasons why the draft/war are wrong -- and frames the war as draft (which is more personally connected, puts pro-war on defensive)
6. It works if (a) people get concerned about draft (b) think of draft as a violation of American values and freedoms (c) war proponents must deny there will be draft

While the site is in development currently, it does currently serve as an example of discourse framing.

[elfundeb.livejournal.com]

I tried to speed-read this book at Borders during lunchtime today. He makes some good points, I think, though he does tend, like so many authors, toward overgeneralization. Very few Republicans I know fit very well into his 'strict father' scenario. I might instead allege that my Republican friends have frontier values.

Very interesting book, though.