Hillsdale Prof. Terrence Moore @ BigGovernment.com - "Adult Swim: A Republic Is for Grown-ups"

BigGovernment.com ^ | 9/16/10 | Prof. Terrence Moore

[hillsdale1]

Bad metaphors bring bad policies. During the Great Depression Americans were told that “the pump” had to be “primed.” Despite twelve years of pump-priming, F. D. R. did not bring America out of the Depression. Bipartisan tax cuts targeted against Truman’s “Fair Deal” did.

Roosevelt had also used the metaphor of “war,” but that analogy was brought to perfection in L. B. J.’s “war on poverty.” The image is problematic. Marines going into a battle, for example, want to know, as they are locking and loading, who the “bad guys” are, that is, whom to shoot. Who were the bad guys in the “war on poverty”? The impoverished? The rich? When President Obama took office a year and a half ago, the universal call from the Democrats was to pass a stimulus package in order to “jump start” economy. Is the American economy really an old jalopy whose owner would not dare go out for a drive without taking his jumper cables? Yet that image was invoked countless times without a trace of irony as the government was moving in to take over parts of the auto industry.

If bad political metaphors are not exposed, bad policies invariably follow.

[Paladin2]

"Marines going into a battle, for example, want to know, as they are locking and loading, who the “bad guys” are..."

Shooting the poor would certainly result in a short time victory in the War on Poverty. Poverty would be over in/for a short time.

[rarestia]

I always wondered how it is that FDR was elected three times. And then they had to enact an amendment to prevent that from happening again.

Community organizing at work even back in the 30s?

[Uncle Ike]

” there is nothing in the U. S. Constitution about classes being singled out or owed anything. “Welfare” is connected to the modifier “general,” which means everyone. “

Nail, meet hammer..... ;)

[Finny]

Good article that points out the power words have through imagery created in metaphors, and how much those metaphors actually communicate beyond mere words. That saying "Sticks and stone may break my bones but words can never hurt me," is limited in its truthfulness. The WHOLE truth is that words are very, very powerful things, much more powerful than most people perceive. The only reason I do is because I'm a mercenary writer by trade and KNOW first-hand how language, mere words, can affect people.

It's one reason why I sigh in frustration when I see "Never Forget!" The operative word is "forget," and that's partly why nine years later, so many Americans have forgotten. A person who truly understands the power of words will say: "Always remember."

[MARTIAL MONK]

Fo’