VALUES MATTER
Strategic Morally Grounded Communication
Training & RESEARCH
All kinds of writers take advantage of METAPHORS to make a point that can be easily understood. But, of course, leave it to MAD magazine to find the exception in one of its movie reviews.
From the book The Sex Myth, by Rachel Hills
New Jersey's US Senator Cory Booker
(a Stanford and Yale grad)
Even though most religions are grounded in love-of-neighbor, we constantly see Christian, Muslim and Jewish fundamentalists in the U.S. and worldwide who call themselves people of "faith" and use the word of their god to hurt others including women, LGBT, blacks, Latinos, and immigrant workers and families.
Stand up to them! IF YOU SMELL SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!
"Fundamentalists (pursuing "narrowly defined theological beliefs") have become increasingly influential in both religion and government, and have managed to change the nuances and subtleties of historic debate into black-and-white rigidities and the personal derogation of those who disagree."
"Americans could be united at home in a common commitment to revive and nourish the religious faith and historical political and moral values that we have espoused and for which we have struggled during the past 230 years. "
President Jimmy Carter,
Our Endangered Values (2005)
A conservative perspective
on GOP message guru Frank Luntz:
"Change 'estate tax' to 'death tax' and you see how words pack an emotional punch," stated an Investors Business Daily article. "Luntz knows about delivering word blows."
The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.
-- Aristotle
(384 BC – 322 BC -- Greek philosopher and scientist)
Regarding prose, Aristotle valued clarity above all else.
Years later, Cicero attributed the unique appeal of metaphors
to a listener's perception of a wholeness of insight or of having the big picture.
In his book, Rediscovering Values: A Guide for Economic and Moral Recovery, prophetic theologian Jim Wallis argues that the financial crisis is also a moral crisis, according to Michael J. Sandel, professor of government at Harvard University and author of Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? Wallis shows how the worship of markets has led us astray -- and how repairing the economy requires a moral awakening and a new commitment to the common good. We need to bring moral clarity to our economic crisis and finally build a strong foundation
for a new, more sustainable economy.
"It is that fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper,
I am my sister's keeper that we need to restore in America."
-- Barack Obama
Interesting way to learn key terms in strategic morally grounded communication from Chip Conley's Emotional Equationsbook.
Could we, some day, present a Dem/progressive overarching moral worldview (OMW) as a mathematical equation for better visualization?
EMPATHY = COMPASSION (for self) + PRESENSE (for others)
AUTHENTICITY = SELF-AWARENESS x COURAGE
INTEGRITY = AUTHENTICITY x INVISIBILITY x RELIABILITY
BELIEF
FAITH = --------------------
INTELLECT
STRICT-FATHER MORAL WORLDVIEW = CONFORMITY + TRADITION + ? + ? + ?
NURTURING-PARENT MORAL WORLDVIEW = BENEVOLENCE + UNIVERSALISM + ? + ? + ?
PRIMARY HUMAN VALUES : CONFORMITY, TRADITION, BENEVOLENCE, UNIVERSALISM (SOURCE: Shalom Schwartz)
“Don't get mad, get even.” Robert F. Kennedy
"Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere."
– Rev. MLK -- Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 16 April 1963
The 2015 version of this timeless concept came in the form of an acceptance speech by actress Kerry Washington (Scandal TV series).
She said we live in a world often treating entire groups of people — women, people of color, LGBT, immigrants, single moms, the unemployed, the working poor — as "others," which translates to second-class citizens. "There is so much power in storytelling, and there is enormous power in inclusive storytelling, in inclusive representation. The "others" of the world need to work together in their common goal and use the power of storytelling to create change. And as long as anyone anywhere is being made to feel less human, our very definition of humanity is at stake, and we are all vulnerable. We must see each other, all of us; and we must see ourselves, all of us.
Drew Westen, PhD:
"Wherever you're heading, ideas provide the roadmap, but emotions provide the fuel. A successful message is one that moves people. Persuasion is about activating the right neural networks connecting ideas, images, and emotions."
Contentious issues and the strategic use of values and morality in messaging arise passions, and people vote their passions. "From the perspective of the passionate mind, candidates shouldn't be running (solely) on issues. Candidates should be running on principles . . .bolstered by the emotional intelligence to identify and communicate . . . shared values."
"Raise the minimum wage and you begin to address the root cause of childhood poverty in America. Worker justice is a moral imperative. A just minimum wage respects the dignity of work, workers and their families. It is a way of curing structural sin. Livable wages strengthen families and whole communities, which helps the 100%."
Sister Simone Campbell
NETWORK's executive director
"It doesn't matter what you say. It only matters what people hear."
"My job is to look for the words that trigger the emotion."
"We know that words and emotion together
are the most powerful force known to mankind."
"Eighty percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect. I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think."
Political consultant (GOP Message Guru) Frank Luntz, PhD
Human beings are naturally predisposed
to hear, remember, and to tell stories.
The problem – for teachers, parents, leaders – is to have more interesting stories to tell.
We all get fed the same stories (on TV), must learn the same stories (in school) and wind up believing the same stories.
We have been content (or happy) to lie back and be entertained for centuries.
Intelligence, for machines as well as for humans, is the telling of the right story at the right time in the right way.”
-- ROGER SCHANK
Just like relevant, vivid metaphors help us better get a message across, multisensory-appealing stories and personal testimonies help us better connect with an audience.
“Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.”
— Robert Redford,
President and Founder, Sundance Institute
"Make no mistake — this is no mere hyperventilation or partisan pouting. This is a fight for the future and soul of our state. It doesn't matter what the critics call us . . . They can't make their case on moral and constitutional grounds."
Rev. William Barber II, PhD
Leader of the FORWARD TOGETHER movement,
president of North Carolina's NAACP
Helped create the MORAL MONDAYS NC movement
that have spread to other conservative-controlled states including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama mainly in response to GOP efforts to cut access to life-critical Medicaid and fueling increased gun violence.
TRAILBLAZERS' WISDOM
Prof. Charles J. Fillmore, PhD
Discovered Frame Semantics
(Founded, Directed the FrameNet Project for many years)
READ HERE what George Lakoff wrote about C. Fillmorere.
Too many progressives make the mistake of believing
people are galvanized around 10-point programs.
They’re not!
People respond according to their sense of right and wrong. They respond
to a leadership of values.
– Minnesota’s late Sen. Paul Wellstone