1	"Language" Language Ref: Moral Politics: How Conservatives and Liberals Think, by George Lakoff
2	Notes from Moral Politics Use the insights etc of Lakoff to revise / rewrite the DOPN legislation as it currently exists, the conservatives cannot even read it. Revisit the campaign materials from the same perspective Attempt to make it presentable to Conservatives - at least pragmatic conservatives Attempt to outline the book & present it in a different format that attempts to show common ground – a matter of priority – maybe welfare can contain enough elements of both models to make it work Although it seems challenging at this point, there may be some common ground Become knowledgeable about Lakoff insights and provide classes for bridge building
3	Conservative vocabulary STRICT Strong / Moral Strength Discipline Tough it out Get tough Self reliance Individual responsibility Backbone Authority Competition Earn Hard work Enterprise Elite Punishment Quotas Break down Dependency Interference Intrusion Meddling Self indulgent Corrupt Rot Decay Degenerate Deviate
4	Liberal vocabulary STRICT Health Safety Nutrition Basic Human Dignity Oppression Deprivation Alienation Big Corporations Corporate welfare Pollution
5	Strict Father Family Model Father / Male Responsible for supporting & protecting Has authority to set overall policy & strict rules Enforce rules Mother / Female Takes care of the house Raises the children Upholds father’s authority Children Respect and obey parents Learn self-discipline Learn self-reliance
6	Strict Father Model (cont) Authority – Critical conditions for legitimacy include: 1) the father must know better than the child/children what the families best interests are 2) the parent must be acting in those best interests and not their own Illegitimate Authority Within the American culture, there is a resentment toward “illegitimate” authority. The conditions for authority cease to hold when the child matures and is able to be self-reliant. At maturity, the child is assumed to be able to determine and act on his best interests for himself. A meddling parent is one who asserts his authority in the child’s life when he has no business doing so – when the conditions for authority are not respected, the parent’s authority becomes an illegitimate intrusion and is morally wrong in the Strict Father model and the father/parent is resented. On matters of national security, authorities hold claim to secret information that always makes those not having access to be considered children who don’t really understand the situation and therefore are subject to their moral authority. Unfortunately, the rules for a security clearance also say that if you disclose any of the information you’ve been given, you will not only loose your security clearance (and rights to review future intelligence information), but you will be fined and sent to prison. Only the most highly placed authorities are exempt from such punishment and can violate these rules (Presidents and Vice Presidents, their staff, their aids, etc.)
7	Nurturing Parent Family Model Nurturing Parents – [preferable two parents (sometimes one)] Share household responsibilities Utilize their moral strength and courage Provide support and protection Show enthusiasm and pride in their child’s development Maintain open, two-way, mutually respectful communication Tell children why their authority is to be respected ( remain a legitimate authority - authoritive) Provide reasons why their decisions are in the family’s and children’s best interest Consider questioning as a positive behavior – it’s part of learning how to think for themselves and become self-reliant Make the ultimate decisions for the best interests of the family Children Develop through Positive relations with others Contributions to their community Ways of realizing their potential and finding joy in life Become responsible, self-disciplined, self-reliant through Being cared for and respected Caring for others, learning empathy for others Become obedient Out of their love and respect for their parents Not out of fear of corporal punishment Become socially conscious With parental assistance and encouragement to be honest, truthful, questioning, self-conscious Become responsible, learn to enjoy life, develop their potential, become self-reliant, respect others, and act fairly towards others Become morally strong
8	Common Ground There are very significant differences in priority of values The good news is that the conservative and liberal perspectives do have some values in common – they want their children to be safe, supported, and to develop into self-reliant adults. The issue is whether the path to that end is via a military boarding school, a charter school, a public school or a Montessori school. The other interesting question is, “Would this country be better off if all conservative minded people disappeared?” or “if all Liberal minded people disappeared?” The answer of course is NO. This country is fortunate to have a reasonable balance of conservative and liberal voters. Hopefully it will stay that way. Nevertheless, we could learn how to be more constructive in managing the differences between these different view points. Currently both sides seem to focus more on “winning” than on finding solutions to the very real problems America is facing.