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  • From: Thomas Beckett <thomas AT tbeckett.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] RE: Erection
  • Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 17:01:59 -0500

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






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