Resistance Words is a Daily Kos group to bring attention to words and concepts that advance the Democratic Party goals of good governance and the Daily Kos goals of electing more and better Democrats to office. The group will advance the proposition that much of the current political division is due to the use of contested words, tainted words, or words that have their origins in direct causality that fail when applied in a situation that requires indirect causality. More beyond the fold.
Contested words was defined by George Lakoff in his extensive writings and a good example of it is found in his book Whose Freedom? Freedom has one meaning to Democrats and a different meaning to Republicans. Thus, the coining of the expression contested words.
“Freedom” is one of the most contested words in American political discourse. In Whose Freedom? The Battle Over America’s Most Important Idea, George Lakoff describes how the country is divided by two dramatically different worldviews, cognitive frames that determine how we think about economic policy, religion, science, foreign affairs – and freedom. From George Lakoff’s Website: Whose Freedom?
“Freedom” is one of the most contested words in American political discourse. In Whose Freedom? The Battle Over America’s Most Important Idea, George Lakoff describes how the country is divided by two dramatically different worldviews, cognitive frames that determine how we think about economic policy, religion, science, foreign affairs – and freedom.
From George Lakoff’s Website: Whose Freedom?
A good example of a tainted word is socialism. Socialism has been vilified by western free market politics ever since Karl Marx published Das Kapital and it was used to challenge capitalism. Another example of tainted words and frames is found is this article: Trump has turned words into weapons and he’s winning the linguistic war.
Donald Trump has been a salesman for nearly half a century. He is now selling himself, his worldview and his self-serving views of the law and the truth. His principal tools are language and the media. By faithfully transmitting Trump’s words and ideas, the press helps him to attack, and thereby control, the press itself. Trump knows the press has a strong instinct to repeat his most outrageous claims, and this allows him put the press to work as a marketing agency for his ideas. His lies reach millions of people through constant repetition in the press and social media. This poses an existential threat to democracy. Language works by activating brain structures called “frame-circuits” used to understand experience. They get stronger when we hear the activating language. Enough repetition can make them permanent, changing how we view the world. From Berkeley Blog: Trump has turned words into weapons and he’s winning the linguistic war.
Donald Trump has been a salesman for nearly half a century. He is now selling himself, his worldview and his self-serving views of the law and the truth. His principal tools are language and the media. By faithfully transmitting Trump’s words and ideas, the press helps him to attack, and thereby control, the press itself.
Trump knows the press has a strong instinct to repeat his most outrageous claims, and this allows him put the press to work as a marketing agency for his ideas. His lies reach millions of people through constant repetition in the press and social media. This poses an existential threat to democracy.
Language works by activating brain structures called “frame-circuits” used to understand experience. They get stronger when we hear the activating language. Enough repetition can make them permanent, changing how we view the world.
From Berkeley Blog: Trump has turned words into weapons and he’s winning the linguistic war.
Directly causal words have their origins in tribal or local society, and when applied to world or global concerns often are inadequate, imprecise or contested. Resistance words will collect or coin words that are appropriate for world or global governance with the recognition that many new words will incorporate in there definition the use of statistics or George Lakoff's systemic causation. (The utilitarian expression for systemic causation is indirect causation.) See this article by George Lakoff on How we talk about climate change, politics & morals for an explanation of the two forms of causation.
Direct vs. systemic causation “Direct causation is very simple: you pick up a glass of water, you drink it, and then the glass doesn’t have water in it anymore. Direct causation. It happens here; it happens now.” It’s simple to understand, and it’s also simple to express through language. “Every language in the whole world can express direct causation in its grammar.” But linguistics can’t quite cope with the concept of systemic causation. Why? Because it’s much more complex, which means it’s that much harder to express in one tidy little sentence. Because of this linguistic difference, people sometimes fall into the trap of explaining — or denying — climate change only in terms of direct causation. Lakoff said, “Take the case of Republican senators who would go out and make snowballs in Washington in winter and then say, ‘What do you mean about global warming? It’s snowing here! More snow than we’ve ever seen!’ ” Well, they’re right that it has snowed. But they’re wrong to say that one piece of weather directly refutes the trends of climate change. Why? Systemic causation. From Citizens’ Climate Lobby: How we talk about climate change, politics & morals
“Direct causation is very simple: you pick up a glass of water, you drink it, and then the glass doesn’t have water in it anymore. Direct causation. It happens here; it happens now.” It’s simple to understand, and it’s also simple to express through language. “Every language in the whole world can express direct causation in its grammar.”
But linguistics can’t quite cope with the concept of systemic causation. Why? Because it’s much more complex, which means it’s that much harder to express in one tidy little sentence.
Because of this linguistic difference, people sometimes fall into the trap of explaining — or denying — climate change only in terms of direct causation. Lakoff said, “Take the case of Republican senators who would go out and make snowballs in Washington in winter and then say, ‘What do you mean about global warming? It’s snowing here! More snow than we’ve ever seen!’ ” Well, they’re right that it has snowed. But they’re wrong to say that one piece of weather directly refutes the trends of climate change. Why? Systemic causation.
From Citizens’ Climate Lobby: How we talk about climate change, politics & morals
All content, new words, new concepts and definitions published in Resistance Words will be considered to be a gift to the world and will be released on a creative commons license of attribution only. All submissions to Resistance Words should be carefully vetted to not infringe on any copyrights or trademarks. All photos contained in submissions should be in the public domain, original works, licensed under an appropriate creative commons license.
This will be a strictly curated group that publishes diaries consisting of words, expressions, concepts and definitions only. Daily Kos users are welcome to submit ideas for new words or entire articles. However, publication depends on conforming to a standard format and the goals of the administrator. Submissions may be edited by administrator or any editors assigned by the administrator. The administrator and editors will supply advice, guidance, suggestions, and the title picture for any submissions.
Kos message linkage if you want to contribute as a author for the group.
Regards, Jonathan Gordon (linkage)
Sorry about the delay in publishing this introduction to the project. My need to start the project caused me just to start publishing Resistance Words without doing an introduction. — JON
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