Luntz & Lakoff: Don't Think.

American's are the most fickle human beings. We are persuaded by the simplest of words. Who would have thought that, just by bending a few truths, we would be so quick to conform? It is a very strange thing to think about. How many times in our lives have our minds been changed just by a simple word or phrase? Crazy, no?

Though I believe Luntz's article to be very interesting, I think he's a lunatic. For some reason he just comes off as a jerk to me. Why would you be proud to be able to persuade the masses by your simple intelligence? Oh, right.. because he's a crazy genius! I'm sure we would all be proud of that. He does fail, however, to go into any explanation on why he chooses certain words over others. This is where Lakoff's strength was. He was not only able to find ways to change certain words to appeal to certain people, but he also explained why he did what he did. He tells us about "framing" and the "two different models of a family." He shows us, he doesn't just brag. I think I like Lakoff more because of this.

The one thing that grabbed me in Lakoff’s book was how the world is based on one big metaphor. We, as the public, wrap our selves up in the idea that we can give human characteristics to just about anything. For example, the explanation that Lakoff's gives on page 53. We saw 9/11 as a metaphor. The towers were human, they fell, and therefore they are dead. Our country is human, it was betrayed, and therefore it is upset. It is the easiest way for us to identify and fit our feelings into the current situation.

Lakoff later goes on the explain how the government gets away with their lies, I'm sorry.. I mean their mere exaggerations. The numerous reasons for still being in Iraq are solid examples. Many people believe, as told by Lakoff, that, no matter if any statement is truly a lie, if the person telling it believes it and does not intend to deceive those he is telling it must not really be a lie. This is how our public is "trained." Well, of course if HE says it's true, if HE believes it's okay, then it must be. This is how our country is persuaded. We all fall for it. Scary, isn’t it?

I was looking back at previous blog entries from semesters before and noticed the comparison between “Don’t Think of an Elephant” and the band, Hanson. I must admit that I’m not sure how the author was able to fit MMMBop into Lakoff, but being a true and continuous Hanson fan myself, I must say BRAVO! (I just had to add this as a little side note.)