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[Thomas Beckett <thomas AT tbeckett.com>]

Tony Spencer wrote:
> "Nearly 52 percent of all Americans preferred to simply ignore reality to
> keep their faith in God and the man who is only too happy to play messiah."
>
> This democrat is oblivious to the problem with his party.  Americans aren't
> "ignoring reality".  It is democrats like this writer that are oblivious to
> reality.  Those red states don't consist solely of uneducated, evangelical
> rednecks "in pickup trucks who think my gay friends are a sin against
> nature".  Categorizing church goers and/or those that vote for a Republican
> candidate as intellectually sub-par, simpletons is not the way to boost the
> democrat party.  
>
> This democrat is out of touch of America along with much of the party.

You're bang on it, Tony.

First, Progressives need to understand that only 17% of the electorate 
is truly "fundamentalist".  The others who voted for Bush probably 
consider themselves religious and their faith is significant to them. 
Second, folks need to stop condescending to such folks.  They're not 
ignorant, supersitious fools by any stretch.  They are good people, they 
are well-intentioned, they are our neighbors and co-workers.

After that, we on the Left need to understand the electorate in terms of 
social psychology.  I subscribe to George Lakoff's view that Left and 
Right are defined by their cultural/linguistic frame of reference on the 
world. Lakoff says that the prevailing metaphor by which Americans 
understand the nation is the family.  But the point of departure between 
Left and Right is that the "Right" views family in terms of the Stern 
Father, the authority figure.  The Left views family in terms of the 
Nurturing Parent, who offers guidance.  More here, read it all:

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml

This gives us the archetypal god of the fundamentalist -- Yahweh (or 
Allah) the remote sky-god, the lawgiver, who vindictively punishes 
transgression.

We also need to understand that in these times society is subject to 
enormous stress and anxiety.  Many folks turn to religion when times are 
tough.  That's a fairly normal and human tendency, and if you are not 
religious you still need to understand it and respect it.  And many 
people, when subject to fear and anxiety, have a greater tendency to 
turn to the Stern Father for direction.  The threats we face are complex 
and multi-faceted, and most folks have a hard time thinking about them, 
much less coming up with a way to solve them at a personal level.  So 
they look to the Stern Father to solve them, so they don't have to think 
about it -- this relieves the anxiety.  Again, this tendency is normal 
and human, and should be respected.

Karl Rove understands this psychology and gave the electorate what it 
was a looking for, a Stern Father who was unshakeably resolute.  He 
didn't admit mistakes, because doing so would be out of character for 
the Stern Father.  Beyond that, it didn't matter much what Bush actually 
said as long as he fit the archetype.  Bush won because he was the only 
one who fit that frame of reference.

Right now fundamentalists have hijacked and control the political agenda 
for Christianity in the U.S.  They are succeeding because no other group 
is offering an alternative vision of Christ.  (And they've invested 
tremendously in television and radio stations.)  The fundamentalist view 
informs and affects more mainstream Christians largely because it is 
more strident and to an extent fills a void.

So if you are Professive and you Want Your Country Back, it is time to 
start reading the Christian Bible.  It is the only way you will 
understand the Red State frame of reference.  It is the only way you can 
 remind the citizens of Jesusland that Jesus preached a Gospel of love 
and compassion, and adamantly opposed the Pharisees (the legalistic, 
politically powerful religious fundamentalists of his day).

On top of that, I am looking for some guidance on accepted therapeudic 
methods that family therapists use with families that have an abusive 
parent.  Because the Stern Father is often the Abusive Father.  It might 
help us understand how to turn the Stern Father frame into the Nurturing 
Parent frame.

TaB