Apologies for putting the BeeGees into your collective heads (or Boyzone for the younger amongst you) but the sentiment is so key to currently political landscape.
Words both reflect and define our values, fears, beliefs and intentions. Speechwriters spend considerable time honing their use of words, creating pithy soundbites in the hope of encapsulating whole political narratives with the intention of persuading the listening public to trust and empower them to action.
Words create meanings as part of another process - that of framing. Frames are mental structures - they're difficult to recognise as they occur subconsciously in our brains. They are made up of groups of connections between images, words, feelings, thoughts and emotions. A word can trigger all sorts of multiple connections in our brains.
Helpless Scrounger Safe Appalling Mess
Hopeless Fair Tough Shameful Hero
This is just a random sample of words but each one packs an emotional punch. Each of them triggers a series of lightning quick, subconscious connections in our brains. Most of these connections happen outside of our consciousness. We don't know how many links to stored memories, images, smells, feelings, sounds, or songs there are as our subconscious rarely gives us the details. Usually we're just left with an emotional response - a positive or negative feeling depending on the word and our associations.
In politics, frames are incredibly important. Conservative political thinkers and strategists have become expert at using them and progressives have been lagging way behind. Frames use language, imagery, narratives to shape a world view and belief system. We may like to think that we are logical, rational beings but in fact the opposite is true. around 98% of what we do is driven by our subconscious, not our logic.
I think the language used by the Coalition is fascinating and reflects their traditional Tory roots in ways they are desperately trying to divert attention away from. Although Cameron's detoxification project has been somewhat successful, even their carefully worded white paper's and press releases betray their underlying belief system: Namely that the poor are there because of their own willful behaviour and lack of discipline and are therefore not only a drain on society but that by supporting them we are hindering them. Ultimately it is not fair that working people should support them. Working people are disciplined. Discipline is good. Poverty is bad, stems from lack of discipline-and is therefore the poor's own fault.
Next time you listen to a Tory minister, notice the language they use, the metaphors, tone and imagery. It will reveal more than Cameron and Coulson's spin can ever hide.
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