Not participating in Frames
I try in my communications not to participate in Frames that I think are misleading. So for example if someone asks me whether I am "For Life" or "For Choice", I would tell them (or write) that I am definitely for life and also for choice. When people talk about "war on terror" I try to point out to them that there cannot be war on tactic/method and I am quite irritated with the progressive politicians who use this terminology. I am thankful to Rockridge institute to bring this up, I lived first 25 years of my life in a communist country with a lot of Orwellian speak and lately I felt like it followed me here and I think it is very important to make it visible, to point it out.
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NY
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framing the war
I think it is important to find a workable term to understand military conflict in Iraq and surrounding regions. I agree that the phrase "war on terror" is absurd. Talking about a "civil war" is also not entirely appropriate when talking about American involvement, because if there is a civil war it is between the tribal and religious factions in Iraq. America is not in a civil war in Iraq. Iraq is in a civil war and we are doing what? Policing the civil war? Fighting on one side? Fighting against both sides? Another term that has been used is a war against islamofascists. This phrase has some potential, but it is also problematic. Whether or not we agree with American involvement in the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, it is pretty clear that there are some organized groups in the world who have "declared war" on America and on the West. (It is interesting that Al Qaeda has framed their war against a value system, which is equally as absurd as a war on terror). The problem with islamofascists is that not all of these groups are associated with a state, and while they share a type of radical ideology, not all of them agree with each other and there exists no central nationalized organizing principal.
Maybe it is not possible to develop a single phrase to think about the conflict(s) raging in the middle ease. Even calling it the "mid-east conflict" does not capture the international nature of terrorism. Maybe we need multiple frames to understand the cellular nature of the problem and to turn the debate aware from overly simplified language that appears as though its purpose is to frighten the American public or attack a political opponent(i.e. if you do _______, you will embolden the terrorists) I think people are craving a way to understand this conflict and there is no easy way right now to discuss the issues.
New! Thanks for sharing your story, mirekalim
Making explicit the frames that people are using, and getting people to examine the language and concepts of the frames that they are using can be a useful technique. We have written about the "war on terror" metaphor, why the Bush administration chose it, and why progressives should reject it:
http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/rockridge/fiveyearsafter911
It still isn't easy to challenge the use of "war on terror" because of its repetition in the media and the fact that many progressives as well as conservatives use it. Still, it is possible to change the language that we accept, as the media's recent adoption of the term "civil war" might demonstrate.
Chapter three of Thinking Points also examines what "life" means to conservatives and to progressives. It also offers some ideas about how progressives could talk about life. Conservatives worked hard to define the term "pro-life" and invested substantial resources to get our nation to the point where it is equated with outlawing abortion. Progressives need to be prepared to work hard to get people to recognize the frames that they are exposed to and to reframe the debates to focus on progressive values.
I appreciate your comments on Orwellian language. Having politicians in office that give legislation that allows more environmental destruction names like the "Clear Skies Act" or the "Healthy Forests Initiative" certainly has Orwellian overtones. We've written about that as well in:
http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/rockridge/orwellian
Thanks again for letting the Rockridge Nation community know how you are using framing.
Evan