The FrameLab podcast returns. George and Gil discuss freedom, empathy and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the differences between conservative and progressive definitions of freedom. Also: George answers questions from listeners.
I am so glad that I found this site. I can't wait for more - although I guess I must ;-). I feel certain that things there will be even more political unrest and ugliness this year. I would like to hear your thoughts on addressing the various right-wing coups that are underway.
1) Re empathy, I hear Dems mention it quite a bit, both explicitly and implicitly, with lots of talk about how we actually do care about people. However, what I feel is sorely lacking is that we don't talk about WHY it is that we feel empathy. As in, what were or are the foundations that our values have been built upon. In part, this lack is because many of us haven't examined the sources of what has become natural to us, and/or we don't know how or are afraid to speak about it.
A lot of us were raised with at least some exposure to Judeo-Christian ethics (OR some other form of parallel spiritual or philosophical teachings) related to caring for "the least of these," the vulnerable, the hungry, “the stranger,” etc. which happens to comprise the bulk of Jesus's Social Gospel teachings. A large number of liberals and progressives have internalized these ethics so much that many of us aren't necessarily conscious of how where we learned them from. Ironically, consciously or not, liberals and their policies generally seek to implement the spiritual/ethical teachings of a spiritual leader that a large percentage of right-wingers SAY they "believe in." And, in contrast, almost all of the Right's stances and policies fly in the face of both Jesus's teachings and even the Ten Commandments (pathological lying, stealing, adultery, and "p—y grabbing" seem acceptable behavior for their leaders now).
My points here are that 1) their blatant religious hypocrisy is Right's Achilles Heel, and Dems are blowing it by not calling that out. And, 2) we also need to be able to learn to talk with those on the Right in language and terms that they can understand and identify with. Their espoused values from The Book they SAY is core to their identity is one of those avenues. We definitely won’t reach all of them, but at least we can reach some people in the middle or on the fence.
2) On another point you were discussing, it is a challenge for me to identify with the frame that [my] "freedom" is impinged upon by the Covid-spreaders. However, I feel that my "right" to "life" is threatened by those who don't care about me or public health. But I do agree with the idea that we can weave in more talk about our rights to live "free" of the virus (legitimately freer, vs. their reckless and irresponsible denial couched as freedom).
3) Gil, you started talking about the disconnect between many on the Right being in support of our troops fighting foreign threats who would harm Americans, while being ok with 820,000+ of us being dead from our Covid menace. I wrote a somewhat related draft speech on "Covid and Patriotism." (I'm looking for work in Dem communications, so I wrote it for my portfolio.) I was seeking to frame the handling of the Covid threat in terms that right-wingers might identify with.
Many of them see themselves as "patriots" who are gung-ho in support of our military (to the extent there are growing militias). A key point I offer is that while our troops are tough individual ("macho") warriors, they are also "bands of brothers and sisters" and are keenly aware that they must have one another's backs and "leave no [one] behind." And that when lives are at stake there, spreading "fake" intel that endangers others will get one court-martialed.
--And so, if one truly honors the military and what makes them strong and effective, then at the very least seek to emulate them. And that one can’t really "love and honor America" while hating fellow Americans, helping to kill almost a million of us from a virus they help to spread or from the shortage of hospital beds we need for other life-threatening conditions.
Thank you again for your work, and I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and learning more.
I am so glad that I found this site. I can't wait for more - although I guess I must ;-). I feel certain that things there will be even more political unrest and ugliness this year. I would like to hear your thoughts on addressing the various right-wing coups that are underway.
1) Re empathy, I hear Dems mention it quite a bit, both explicitly and implicitly, with lots of talk about how we actually do care about people. However, what I feel is sorely lacking is that we don't talk about WHY it is that we feel empathy. As in, what were or are the foundations that our values have been built upon. In part, this lack is because many of us haven't examined the sources of what has become natural to us, and/or we don't know how or are afraid to speak about it.
A lot of us were raised with at least some exposure to Judeo-Christian ethics (OR some other form of parallel spiritual or philosophical teachings) related to caring for "the least of these," the vulnerable, the hungry, “the stranger,” etc. which happens to comprise the bulk of Jesus's Social Gospel teachings. A large number of liberals and progressives have internalized these ethics so much that many of us aren't necessarily conscious of how where we learned them from. Ironically, consciously or not, liberals and their policies generally seek to implement the spiritual/ethical teachings of a spiritual leader that a large percentage of right-wingers SAY they "believe in." And, in contrast, almost all of the Right's stances and policies fly in the face of both Jesus's teachings and even the Ten Commandments (pathological lying, stealing, adultery, and "p—y grabbing" seem acceptable behavior for their leaders now).
My points here are that 1) their blatant religious hypocrisy is Right's Achilles Heel, and Dems are blowing it by not calling that out. And, 2) we also need to be able to learn to talk with those on the Right in language and terms that they can understand and identify with. Their espoused values from The Book they SAY is core to their identity is one of those avenues. We definitely won’t reach all of them, but at least we can reach some people in the middle or on the fence.
2) On another point you were discussing, it is a challenge for me to identify with the frame that [my] "freedom" is impinged upon by the Covid-spreaders. However, I feel that my "right" to "life" is threatened by those who don't care about me or public health. But I do agree with the idea that we can weave in more talk about our rights to live "free" of the virus (legitimately freer, vs. their reckless and irresponsible denial couched as freedom).
3) Gil, you started talking about the disconnect between many on the Right being in support of our troops fighting foreign threats who would harm Americans, while being ok with 820,000+ of us being dead from our Covid menace. I wrote a somewhat related draft speech on "Covid and Patriotism." (I'm looking for work in Dem communications, so I wrote it for my portfolio.) I was seeking to frame the handling of the Covid threat in terms that right-wingers might identify with.
Many of them see themselves as "patriots" who are gung-ho in support of our military (to the extent there are growing militias). A key point I offer is that while our troops are tough individual ("macho") warriors, they are also "bands of brothers and sisters" and are keenly aware that they must have one another's backs and "leave no [one] behind." And that when lives are at stake there, spreading "fake" intel that endangers others will get one court-martialed.
--And so, if one truly honors the military and what makes them strong and effective, then at the very least seek to emulate them. And that one can’t really "love and honor America" while hating fellow Americans, helping to kill almost a million of us from a virus they help to spread or from the shortage of hospital beds we need for other life-threatening conditions.
Thank you again for your work, and I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and learning more.
So glad you and Gil are back. Continuing the conversation about freedom and empathy, might you and Gil like to comment on Michael Flynn's call for one nation under one religion. Here's what Heather Cox Richardson had to say about it - https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-14-2021?r=b5gzz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=