The Power of Words and the Power of Stories

Political Discourse

"language was the key to power. His memos included vocabulary lessons: if you discussed your opponent with words like

betray bizarre bosses bureaucracy cheat corrupt crisis cynicism decay destroy disgrace impose incompetent liberal lie limit(s) obsolete pathetic radical shame sick stagnation status quo steal taxes they/them threaten traitors unionized waste welfare, you had him on the defensive,

and if you described your side with change children choice/choose common sense courage crusade dream duty empower(ment) family freedom hard work lead liberty light moral opportunity pro-(issue) proud/pride reform strength success tough truth vision we/us/our, you had already won the argument.

The Gingrich lexicon could be arranged into potent sentences regardless of context, or even meaning: "We can empower our children and families to dream by leading a moral crusade for liberty and truth if only we are tough and have common sense."

"Corrupt liberal bosses cheat, lie, and steal to impose their sick pathetic cynicism and bizarre radical stagnation in order to destroy America." Thus a whole generation of politicians learned to sound like Newt Gingrich.

And he saw that the voters no longer felt much connection to the local parties or national institutions. They got their politics on TV, and they were not persuaded by policy descriptions or rational arguments.They responded to symbols and emotions. They were growing more partisan, too, living in districts that were increasingly Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative. Donors were more likely to send money if they could be frightened or angered, if the issues were framed as simple choices between good and evil-which was easy for a man whose America stood forever at a historic crossroads, its civilization in perpetual peril. (23)

From
Packer, George.  The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.  New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.  Print.

A Tale of Two Parties

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend, and didn’t really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?” She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus, college for her is a blast. She’s always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn’t even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.

Her father asked his daughter, "Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father’s suggestion, angrily fired back, “That wouldn’t be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I’ve invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”		A young woman was about to finish her last year of college before hopefully landing a job as a teacher. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and favored a more equitable tax system.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she was surprised that her middle class father would vote against his economic interests.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

She answered that she had worked very hard to get a 4.0 GPA, in spite of working nearly 40 hours a week waitressing in order to pay for school because her father was unable to contribute anything toward her schooling. She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend, and didn’t really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?” She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, hasn’t worked a day in her life at a job and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is always going to parties, dressed to the nines, and frequently misses classes the next day because she is hung over.”

Her wise father patted his daughter’s arm and said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure reality will hit when she graduates, and she will have to take personal responsibility for her lack of hard work. She’ll surely struggle to get a job because of her low GPA, and she no doubt will have a mountain of debt to pay back.”

The daughter, far from comforted by her father’s naïve assumption about the America dream, angrily fired back, “She has no debt because her parents pay for her living expenses and tuition. Heck, the mortgage deduction on their second home and the money they save on the low 15% capital gains tax on their stock market portfolio is enough to pay Audrey’s bills. And, she already has a $60,000 job lined up working for a friend of her father who golfs with him at the country club.”

 Her father, who barely made ends meet after being laid off from a comfortable middle-class job, exclaimed, “That isn’t fair! You have worked really hard for your grades, invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree but she’s got a job and will be making twice as much money as you?

The daughter slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the Democratic Party.”