What’s missing in the current discussion of politics, the web, and language
Sep 9th, 2003 by jimmoore
Lots of interest these days in using the web for winning campaigns, and lots of interest in political language. But in this interest folks are predictably focused on what we can use now, not what we need to do together as a community to advance our capabilties.
For example, lots of interest in blogging and campaigns–but not too much interest in defining and refining–indeed rediscovering and reinventing democracy for our time. Deeper democracy, deeper political participation, and a “wiser politics” is clearly something we need. But few are discussing what is wise and what is not wise in our political process. And fewer are considering how the web, blogging, telepresence, etc. can be developed to further wisdom–in addition to “winning.”
On language, there is much rehashing of left and right language. For example, George Lakoff’s excellent thoughts on political language, originally on the web http://www.wwcd.org/issues/Lakoff.html are given a new look in the current American Prospect http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/8/lako…
What is not really being discussed is how we can forge a new political langauge that speaks to our time now. Lakoff speaks of the political right as favoring “stern parent” language and ideas regarding government, and the left “nurturant parent” language and ideas. But how about some other language and ideas besides “government as parent?” I for one don’t want George Bush and John Ashcroft or Howard Dean and whoever to be my surrogate parent. I want government to provide a platform and context for creativity. I want it to favor emergence. I want it to set some broad rules within which our social ecosystem can thrive. But of course these are my ecological metaphors. I’d like us to find others, as well.