Mariel is reading…“Don’t Think of an Elephant!”

Once in awhile, a book comes along that significantly changes your perspective on a subject.

I recently finished reading “Don’t think of an Elephant! Know your values and frame the debate” by American linguistics professor George Lakoff, and this little gem of a book has made me understand how politics and policies are communicated in a whole new way.

“Don’t think of an Elephant” examines the success that the conservative right-wing in the United States has had in the past in gaining widespread support for its policies through appealing to voters’ emotions and personal value systems.

While it seems logical that people would vote rationally and with their own self-interest in mind, this is actually often not the case. Studies have shown that many people choose to support a political candidate not based upon how their policies would impact them, but because the values, morals and characteristics that the candidate projects reflect their own.

This is where progressives have been left behind. As progressive policy-makers and politicians assume that voters are “rational actors,” they often fail to frame their positions in a way that appeals to peoples’ emotions, and therefore do not gain the public support that they could.

In providing examples of this, Lakoff outlines two primary value systems that people possess: the “strict father” model and the “nurturing parent” model (I will be exploring these two models further in my next blog). Both models are based upon family values, but can be applied to other institutions too (for example, the relationship between the state and its citizens).

All people possess both frames, either passively or actively, and often use both in different situations. Therefore, peoples’ support for an issue may change depending upon which frame is used to communicate it.

“Don’t think of an Elephant” was written before the Obama presidency campaign began, but in reading it, I kept reflecting on how Obama’s exceptional use of values-based narrative in his campaign speeches enabled him to reach out and unite so many voters in support of him.

While “Don’t think of an Elephant” focuses on American politics, Lakoff’s ideas can be easily applied to Canada. Last week, Murray Dobbin wrote a great article on the need for progressive politics in Canada to frame their policies based upon values and not simply issues.

I’ll be exploring what I’ve recently learned in a few more blog posts, so stay tuned!