Don't Think of an Elephant!
Try a small experiment with me:
1. Close your eyes and take 5 deep breaths. Relax for 5 breaths.
2. Don't think of a black elephant! Whatever you do, don't think of a black elephant!!
3. Were you able to obey this command?
I'm yet to find someone who could do this...The reason is pointed to by George Lakoff, who teaches Linguistics at Berkeley. Lakoff wrote a book entitled 'Don't Think of an Elephant', that describes the concept of 'framing'. Every word, like elephant, evokes a 'frame' in our minds. A frame can be an image, a sound or any other kind of knowledge.
The frame for elephant could be: has floppy ears, a big trunk, is usually grey, very large, associated with a circus, etc. Each of us, in our minds, has a frame for elephant, and we have a collective frame for elephant as well (a frame we share with others).
When we negate a frame, we actually evoke the frame (such as the elephant example :-)). The neo-conservatives in the Bush administration have mastered this art and hijacked the English language to suit their ends. Here are a few examples:
1. "Tax-Relief": A phrase that has been used by the Bush White House repeatedly to describe tax-cuts that deliver the biggest bang for the wealthiest 3% of all Americans. "Relief" implies an ailment or problem ("Tax Burden"); it also implies that the ailment can be cured; and the Fixer (Doctor) of the ailment is a hero. If progressives try to stop the Doctor, they are villains for trying to prevent "Relief" from occurring. "Tax Relief" is thus a frame, composed of ideas we can all relate to, like "Ailment", "Doctor" and "Cured".
The frame emerges from the fertile mind of a neo-con genius like Karl Rove, is said by the President several times in the State of the Union address, and pretty soon, we hear it on CNN, Fox, the New York Times, as the 'President's Tax Relief Plan'. The sad thing is when the Dems started using the Phrase 'Tax Relief' in THEIR plan. They fell into the 'framing' trap set by the Neo-Cons. Now, all discussion falls into the frame specifically defined by one side.
2. "War on Terror"
How soon did we see this frame on Fox News when we invaded Iraq? The background graphic used by Fox was brilliant, with the Star and Stripes in the background, another powerful visual frame. How could anyone argue with the fact that we were at "War", we need to "Kill or be Killed" by "The Enemy", etc. What did Iraq have to do with Al Queda and Osama bin Laden? Were ANY of the hijackers who did the dastardly deed on 9/11 from Iraq? No! Yet a University of Maryland poll of 1265 Americans from a broad sample set found the following:
a. A full 33% believed that U.S Forces have uncovered WMD in Iraq. The Truth: None has been found in over 3 years of searching by our elite forces.
b. 22% of people thought Iraq had used Chemical and Biological weapons against U.S. forces in Iraq. The Truth: Wrong again. Never happened.
c. 50% (FIFTY PERCENT) thought that there were Iraqi hijackers among those who launched the demoniacal attack on America on 9/11/2001. The Truth: Not a single one.
3. "Clear Skies Initiative" (EPA program for utility industries from the Bush administration that claims that this is aimed at improving air quality in neighborhoods across America). The administration claims that "Clear Skies will help alleviate our nation's major air pollution-related health and environmental problems including fine particles, ozone, mercury, acid rain, nitrogen deposition, and visibility impairment."
Concerned scientists, the press and environmental experts are shocked. They posit that that "Clear Skies" reduces pollution control requirements for antiquated coal plants, and may cause 520% more Mercury pollution, 68% more Nitrogen Doixide , 225% more Sulphur Dioxide by 2010, when compared to today. So "Clear Skies" is nothing but a pat on the shoulder for the Big Utilities by the GOP. But how easy is it to argue with something that will "Clear the Skies"? ;-)
Other frames: if you are against control by a woman of her reproductive rights, you are "Pro-Life", and if you are part of a gay or lesbian relationship, you are against "Family Values", as a concerned parent, parent, how could you possible be against "No Child Left Behind"??
If you got this far, thank you for your time and patience!!!
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