May 2005: Don't Think of an Elephant (Lakoff)

Post date: Jan 07, 2010 6:27:17 PM

The group of eight Smithies discussing Lakoff's book Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives at Ruth's on May 17th was a little dispirited. People were discouraged about the burden of getting the progressive agenda defined and promoted, and wanted more from the Lakoff book in terms of prescriptions on how to move forward. Two readers made compelling statements about their efforts to speak civilly with the their elders/family members about the conservative shift in the country.

In this book, linguistics professor George Lakoff (author of the influential and more extensive book on the subject, Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, 2nd edition 2002) explains how conservatives think and how to counter their arguments. He outlines the traditional American values that progressives hold but are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues and provides examples of how progressives can reframe the debate.