Our blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

MORE
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
Katrina's Aftermath
US News
Bush Crime Family News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Support Bloggers' Rights!

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Grappling With the Politics of Fear
(Don Hazen, Alternet, November 25, 2002)
It is increasingly apparent that the climate of fear promoted by the Bush Administration in the wake of a series of national traumas is having wide effect. It seems clear that the politics of fear and safety has been underestimated by progressives and pundits. . . . the anxiety-provoking anti-terrorism actions and messages of fear of the Bush administration fall into the category of the "strict father" mode of communication. . . . Lakoff believes that the "strict father" mode is at the bedrock of conservative ideology. . . . "Over the past thirty years conservatives have poured billions of dollars into their think tanks. They have articulated the system of moral and family values that unifies conservatives; they have created appropriate language for their vision; they have disseminated it throughout the media; and they have developed a coherent political program to fit their values." Lakoff argues that this infrastructure of ideas and values is the essential reason "for the success that conservatives have been enjoying, despite the fact that they appear to be the minority." . . . Certainly a good case can be made that many Americans � including voters on Election Day � feel overwhelmed, shell-shocked and mystified by a recent past featuring a stolen Presidential election, unprecedented corporate scandals, a crumbling Catholic church, the devastating attacks of 9/11, the sniper attacks in Washington D.C., and the ongoing war on terror, with raids, arrests and constant leaks from the FBI about alleged security vulnerabilities dominating the media. . . . The Bush communication capacity would be worth billions of dollars in the commercial marketplace. Peace advocates, by contrast, have spent less than $200,000 for paid ads, and anti-war advocates, even those in Congress, get very little free media coverage. . . . Clearly intellectual arguments may not be at their most potent at this juncture. Many perceive us to be living in a dangerous time. Even though there has been no domestic terrorism in the 13 months since 9/11, terrorism still dominates the corporate news virtually every day. . . . "Under cover of escalating citizen anxiety, the administration is masterfully reshaping domestic and foreign policy both � according to pre-set ideological dispositions." . . . Chao Gunther adds, "People are being pummeled into alienation. With a national injury people are hurt and the politics of fear is being practiced. This is what happened in Europe in the 1930s. This is the kind of an environment where the guys in the brown shirts start showing up. The Democrats haven't been able to strike a moral opposition. No one is heroic, no one is saying 'Open your eyes.'" . . . "We need to meet people where they are at and make a patriotic appeal � urging people to start asking questions, to look around them and see what is happening, be skeptical, to exercise their patriotic duty to ask questions. We need to be telling them it is not a time to be hiding, to be sleeping." . . . At some point, fear turns into anger. Right now, though, that anger seems entirely directed against Saddam or bin Laden, not against the Administration's lies and manipulations. The trick is in turning the tide. Adds Chao Gunther: "We are a powerful country because of our beliefs, our values; not our weapons or ability to bomb people back to the stone age. We need to speak with courage and conviction. Not enough of us are saying that Bush is wrong, and speaking with forcefulness ab4out why." . . . As Lakoff emphasizes, "The conservatives want to impose their world view on the country � permanently. This isn't just about taxes, or social programs, or prescription drugs, or the Iraq war. It is an attempt to take over the American mind and to impose strict father values on every aspect of our lives � in thousands of ways, great and small." He adds, "If progressives do not even see the scope of the danger, then we are in trouble."

posted by Lorenzo 11:49 AM