Search Results for: george lakoff

Tracking the Growth of American Authoritarianism

“Can There Really Be Fascist People In A Democracy?”
Libertarians are stealthily taking over America.

Since the 1971 Powell Memo, America has moved closer and closer to Fascism.

 

Understanding Your Right-Wing Authoritarian Neighbors And Why You Can’t Re-wire Their Minds

Based on the work of others, primarily Professor George Lakoff, an expert in cognitive linguistics – how the brain uses and responds to language, here is what I’ve come to understand about those who support people like racist, misogynist, DJT … Continue reading

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Winning in Politics – Inspiring Your Supporters to Vote

Know Your Values and Frame the Debate Communicating Our American Values and Vision Why You Can’t Understand 21st Century American Politics with an 18th Century Brain The essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic The above list provides the subtitles … Continue reading

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Supressing Hope Is Futile – Integrity, Moral Values, and Insurrectional Democracy

Externalizing hope will defeat the casino capitalism of the authoritarian right. Here are three requirements for getting there: 1. Progressives who deny their core values, lose, and can’t inspire the underpaid, overworked, debt ridden, and generally oppressed to take action. … Continue reading

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Contested Concepts – The “O” Word

The following quote is from a blog posting by Marc Farinella : “Two final points from Lakoff; here’s the first: Don’t be fooled by contested concepts,which are abstract ideals such as fairness, justice, caring, equality, and liberty that appear to … Continue reading

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Supporters of DOMA, Prop 8, and Texas Special Session SB 5 – How Their Authoritarian World View Can Predict Their Actions

While driving home from lunch today and listening to the discussion on NPR’s ‘Talk of the Nation’, the strong unreasonable comments of a caller disturbed me. This caller was stating that overruling California’s Proposition 8 was not right. Prop 8 … Continue reading

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Media Gives Free Reign to Gut Feel While The Nation’s Needs Are Ignored

Right-wing authoritarians (RWA) – those blocking progress in both houses of our Congress and conniving with ALEC to write oppressive state laws – are not only all about ‘me-my-mine,’ they are also ‘rugged individualists’ with no need for others who … Continue reading

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Avoiding The Right-wing Authoritarian Future – The Moral Values Way

(Unless otherwise noted, this posting includes extensive excerpts from Appendix VII, The New Patriotism, of the The 15% Solution, by ‘Jonathan Westminster,’ which is a penname for Steven Jonas. The second edition of this book that was just published, does … Continue reading

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Teapublicans Are Punishing America for Electing a Black Man President

As we all know, our right-wing minority controlled Congress and many right-wing state leaders have opposed every effort of President Obama. The election of a gaggle of Tea Party members to Congress in 2010 reinforced this opposition and Mitch McConnell … Continue reading

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Moral Values of the Left and Right – History Shows Which Works for All Americans

Throughout this blog, postings have provided details about the strict father and nurturant parent worldviews. Charts in some of those postings show how the dominance of one or the other of these two worldviews affects our economy. Not only did … Continue reading

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Corporate Governance Erodes Democracy As Education is Privatized

Corporate governance destroys democracy by replacing accountability to citizens with accountability to a few major stockholders and boards of directors who want reduced costs and increased profits. This change in accountability means moral values, such as protecting and empowering/educating citizens, … Continue reading

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The Price of Our Freedoms – Our Children’s Lives?, Our Representative Government?

Based on the recent writings of Professor George Lakoff and the Newtown statements from our President, I posted the following to FB to contrast the conservative without conscience (CWC) and progressive moral values on the recent shootings in Newtown, CT. … Continue reading

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Corporate Governance of Social Security & Medicare – An Abominable Idea for Senior Welfare

I’ve sent the following to President Obama via the White House contact web site: You might consider doing something similar to counter all the fiscal cliff fear mongering we will hear for the next several weeks. —————————————————————————————- RE: Fiscal Cliff … Continue reading

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More Research Invalidates Extreme Right-wing Principle – Solely “Self-made”

The extreme right-wing, strict father, authoritarian family model, which is represented in many ways by the Romney/Ryan twosome, includes the principle of the self-made individual – each person is totally responsible for their success. This is what George Lakoff calls … Continue reading

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What’s It Gonna Be: Representative Governance or Corporate Governance?

Part of President Obama’s 2012 nomination acceptance speech made reference to the different visions and choices for our future. “And on every issue, the choice you face won’t just be between two candidates or two parties. It will be a … Continue reading

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Moral Principles – What Conservatives Know and Progressives Take for Granted

Recent political ads lie about President Obama and his suggestions to the states on the national welfare program. As stated in a recent Truthout article, the producers of these ads are targeting “white working class voters” who harbor “deep resentment … Continue reading

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Destroying America’s Soul – The Devil’s Budget

In his latest article, George Lakoff discusses how The Devils Budget proposed by the opponents to President Obama will eventually destroy the soul of our democracy by defunding all of its Public infrastructure: public protection, public empowerment, public education, public … Continue reading

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Why Scott Walker Won and a Book for Future Progressive Victories

In a recent article by George Lakoff, the author explains how Republicans won the message war and confirmed Scott Walker as the governor of Wisconsin. “Where progressives argued policy — the right to collective bargaining and the importance of public … Continue reading

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The 2012 Authoritarian Strategy and How Democrats Could Lose The Presidency

George Lakoff, professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley, has published an article called The Santorum Strategy. Here are some excerpts if you don’t have time for the whole article: …The Republican presidential campaign is about a lot more than the … Continue reading

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Belief in Self-regulating Free Enterprise Based on Another Authoritarian Myth

The 99% are suffering from the Great Recession and it will be years before we recover. At least one conservative economist is willing to admit the free enterprise system is flawed. Alan Greenspan admitted this failure while testifying to the … Continue reading

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What is of Greater Concern than the Military-industrial Complex?

In a posting from August 2006, I provided a table on the traits of the authoritarian personalities: Leaders and Followers. This same table was reposted in a December 2010 posting about the Tea Party. In January 2009, my posting included … Continue reading

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The “Empathy Deficit” and the Growth of American Authoritarianism

The following is a letter I sent to President Obama via their contact page at the White House. In 2006, you spoke about the “empathy deficit.” You said, “There’s a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. … Continue reading

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What’s It Take to Win in 2012? More About ‘We’

It will take winning back the swing/independent/biconceptual/dual voters. They were influenced by the empathetic progressive messages in 2008 and by the fearful conservatives-without-conscience messages in 2010. For 2012, the progressive message should be, “The Country We Believe In.” It should … Continue reading

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Violence Against Americans by Americans – Individual Action Is Only Part of the Story

Individual actions result from the influences of many factors. This is referred to as “systemic causation.” Some factors are genetic but many are external: parents, spouses, siblings, other relatives, friends, scout leaders, religious leaders, teachers, bosses, books, movies, radio, TV, … Continue reading

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“When people are voting against their interests, more interest-based arguments don’t help.”

Do you wonder why Democrats have gone from a significant victory in 2008 to looking at big losses in Congress in 2010? Do you wonder what it is the Republicans know and what the Democrats need to learn to avoid … Continue reading

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Ron Paul Is Right – He Just Didn’t Fully Describe Who’s at Fault.

RE: Ron Paul to Sunshine Patriots: Stop Your Demagogy About The NYC Mosque!,   Representative Paul, I think John Dean, former counsel for Richard Nixon’s White House, best described those inflicting this insult on the nation as “Conservatives WIthout Conscience” – also … Continue reading

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DEMOCRATS – It’s Time To Stop Playing by Their Rules

The following was sent to leaders of the Democrat Party: ————————– Why are Democrats so afraid of the Republicans? Why are Democrats so afraid of standing up for their progressive values? Why are Democrats so afraid of a Republican filibuster? … Continue reading

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Redistribution of America’s Income – More for The Mega Rich or the Common Wealth?

In summary, America’s common wealth has been hit by a triple whammy: tax cuts for the rich far larger that can be considered fair, tax refunds to the rich via privateering, and by a shift of household income into the excessively reduced upper tax brackets. In addition, accountability for the nation’s common wealth has been transferred from our elected representatives and handed over to rich individuals mostly accountable to themselves and corporate CEOs who are only accountable to shareholders. The ultimate effect of all this transfer of wealth and accountability is that our government less able to protect and empower its citizens.

It’s time we all realize that privateering and tax cuts favoring the very wealthy are not what America needs. Just look at where they have gotten us – The Great Recession, a growing plutocracy, consumer debt at 100 percent of GDP, banks too big to fail, and ultimately the deaths of fellow citizens. Continue reading

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Right-wing Authoritarian Belief in Strict Punishment Produces Domestic Terrorists – Who’s Protecting America?

Within the Conservatives without Conscience, there is an extremist group – “The fringe of the fringe.” This group was raised within the ideal Strict Father Model and taught to accept authority without question. Their parental authority uses strong physical punishment to enforce what he believes is right. Their religious authority uses politics to create a culture war and identify the enemies of their imaginary theocratic America. Their media authority names their enemies and defines their failures. Their economic authority makes sure the religious and media authoritarians are funded even when they can’t make it on their own. Continue reading

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The Destruction of American Democracy – “Privateering” Is Hard at Work

Privateering is destroying America’s democracy by eliminating our governments moral mission to protect and empower all of its citizens. Privateering is supplanting that moral mission with protection and empowerment of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Continue reading

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American Health Care Emergency – Winning Health Insurance Reform

The following was based on a new article by George Lakoff. Populating the Administration with people from inside the beltway will help in some ways and hurt in others. Progressives are losing the health care reform effort because the inside … Continue reading

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Causation – Paying Taxes Contributes to Everyone’s Success

… paying taxes supports America’s infrastructure and improves the chances of success for all citizens. However, cutting taxes, as the CWCs suggest, especially for the mega rich, only increases the chances of success of the mega rich. Continue reading

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Banks Too Big to Fail, Criminals Too High-up to Prosecute – What CWCs Brought Us To and What to Do About It

The title says a lot about where we were going during the few last decades of rule by conservatives without conscience (CWC). It also suggests there is something we can do about it. What is it about the CWCs that … Continue reading

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Empathy – Why Is It Under Attack by the CWCs?

Here are samples of how conservatives without conscience (CWC) are responding to the word “empathy.” Be A Good Republican: Attack Empathy, Defend Torture Jeff Sessions Claims He Doesn’t Know What Empathy Is Steele: ‘Crazy nonsense empathetic!’ GOP freaks out as … Continue reading

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Family Models and The Market – More on Our Two Political Worldviews

In my previous post, I reviewed the conservative and progressive worldviews from a historical and family model perspective. In this posting, I review these two worldviews according to set of critical factors and how they help define each worldview. This … Continue reading

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Two Worldviews – A History, Two Ideal Family Models and The Role of Empathy

In my article on November 12, 2008, I discussed the need to build a progressive empathetic foundation to at least match if not surpass the well developed and obesely funded conservative single-party foundation that brought us torture, preemptive war and … Continue reading

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Caring as a National Policy – What Empathy Can Bring Back to America

The talk of change is all around. We are seeing its potential in the transition from one president to the next. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of change that will rekindle the ideas of our founding fathers and their … Continue reading

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Favorite Quotes Collected While Trying to Figure Out Where We Are Going

That [NSA survellance] capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left, such [is] the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. There would be no … Continue reading

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Small Group Accepts Mass Killings for the Sake of Maintaining Unlimited Freedom.

“Conservatives without Conscience,” a minority in America defined by John Dean in his book by the same title, accept the collateral damage of their many wars, including innocent American children and many others taken by mass killings – mass killings … Continue reading

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Hidden Threats Strain Both the Earth’s Life-sustaining Resources and Life Itself

Unsustainable economic growth and its systemic impacts on the wealth gap, human population, and Earth’s climate are enslaving and abusing all Peoples. Wage theft, debt slavery, and expanding poverty drive the exponential growth of the income and wealth gap and … Continue reading

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2012 Election – Are We Going to Return to a National Legalized Gozzle-up Ponzi Scheme?

(The following is a reposting of an entry from August of 2010 with minor updates.) This posting was inspired by an article at Rational Revolution. It takes another look at the disproportionate shift in income to the mega and ultra … Continue reading

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