Ralph questions noted linguist, George Lakoff, about the language progressives need to use to get their message across. And Washington Post columnist, Christine Emba, tells us about how “Smartphones Changed Our Lives. Let’s Think Before We Let Robots In.”
George Lakoff is a cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972. In his book Moral Politics, he demonstrated that the difference in worldview between liberals and conservatives arose from two different idealized views of the family — a strict father family for conservatism and a nurturant parent family for liberalism. In his international bestseller Don’t Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, Professor Lakoff outlined in detail the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate. The “all new” Don’t Think of an Elephant! picks up where the original book left off—delving deeper into how framing works, how framing has evolved in the past decade, how to counter propaganda and slogans and more.
Christine Emba writes about ideas for The Washington Post Opinions section and is editor of “In Theory,” the Post’s ideas blog. The idea that caught Ralph’s eye is entitled, “Smartphones Changed Our Lives. Let’s Think Before We Let Robots In.”
Don’t Think of An Elephant!