3.13.2005

lakoff - a clarification

Based on some reader comments, I think I was misunderstood, or that George Lakoff's ideas may have been misunderstood at wmtc.

In "Moral Politics," Lakoff doesn't say that the Democrats lost the election because they support same-sex marriage. (By the way, do they support same-sex marriage? Most of them were too squirrelly to take a stand!) And he definitely doesn't say that they lost the election because of gays and lesbians.

Rather, Lakoff is saying that the Democrats have allowed the Republicans to cloak themselves in the appearance of morality - to be perceived as the more moral party. And that, to be effective, the Democrats need to do a better job of articulating their own morality and their own values, such as tolerance, justice, equality, and other liberal values. That the Dems should be less issues-oriented and more values-oriented.

I definitely reject it. I just wanted to be clear on what I was rejecting.

No comments: