Reply #12: Careful pre-planned choice of words and phrases

[Bernardo de La Paz]

Starting in the 60s and 70s, the right wing think tanks thought long and deep about framing the debate. The choice of words is carefully done and done in advance. That is why it was "Right to life", not "barefoot and pregnant". Admittedly that is a gross caricature of the choices, but you get the idea.

Phrases that frame the debate:

"family values", "right to life", "law and order", "big government", "death tax", "war president", "peace president", "kinder, gentler", "decisive", "morning in America", "welfare cheats", "shining city on a hill" (religious), "peacemaker missile", "no child left behind", "activist judges", "evil empire", "axis of evil", "supply side economics", "waste, fraud, and abuse", ...

Phrases are memes. They carry a genetic idea payload. When they land in the ear, on the way to the cerebral cortex, they pick up all the associated baggage. So when a Republican says "death tax", all of the associated images of big government versus hard working farmers and small business people are attached.

Democrats have had some success ("Great Society", "war on poverty", "it's the economy").

Notice how effective Kerry has been when he seized the "values" word and made it his own. The Republicans have made repugnant use of it by linking it most often to "family values". Kerry hit home when he talked about real "values" and exposed the facade of caring about one's own family while squeezing all kinds of other families around town.

It is only recently that the Democrats have really wisened up to the necessity to frame the debate that by choice of word and phrase. Better late than never.

Seize the meme and make it your own.