Media Manipulation, Moral Language & Moral Monday

By paulgibson51 on February 16, 2017 • ( 0 )

This post outlines clearly how the media shapes our thinking and presents a George Lakoff guide on how we can combat media misinformation by framing our own conversations with others. Another extraordinary Keith Olbermann video, and a video illustrating how one Trump voter did an abrupt 180. And, ICE raids have begun in NM! Share this post.

Saturday’s post will be an exposé of what happens when ALEC (a Koch brother funded think tank) constructs bills using misleading language and partners with big business interests, in this case PNM. Together, PNM and ALEC have carefully constructed a case for HB199/SB210 under the guise of being a consumer protection bill (misleading language) that is based on entirely misleading information. They have managed to dupe busy legislators into thinking the bill will protect constituents. Well-intentioned Democrats are voting for this bill, and on Saturday we will give you all the details on how this bill was created and how it would severely limit consumers from purchasing solar in NM. Absolutely shameful. Speaking of bills to watch, click here for an update on a slew of hearings today and tomorrow on election reform, coyote killing, conversion therapy prevention, banning solitary confinement for those with mental health conditions, and other important bills.

ICE Launches Raids in Las Cruces. Click here for a full report. Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park, commented in a blog: “I don’t think ripping little girls away from their families is an American value.” He also delivered a letter to Governor Martinez stating, “In New Mexico, we value our hardworking immigrant communities and our diversity. The mere presence of ICE vans and deportation squads has already caused a ripple of fear and panic through our communities. It must stop here and now.” To help stop these raids, click here and make a donation to Somos Un Pueblo Unido today so that they can do more to advocate against these policies and protect our immigrant community.

Today’s NM Action: email or call a group of friends (do this big, we want a huge turnout) and ask them to join you for Moral Monday on Feb 20, (Not Our) Presidents Day, Noon – 4:30pm. Click here for details and to RSVP. In addition to a series of tremendous speakers from 12-1 pm, there will be free food and beverage, and music from Consuelo Luz, Jono Manson, and John Kurzweg. At 1:45 we will direct people to Hearing Room 309 to lobby for NM’s equivalent to a single-payer system: The Health Security Act. Before that we will stage a symbolic ‘die-in’ by lying on the ground for 5 minutes to represent all those who will die from the immoral policies of our President and Governor. Please wear black. And make no mistake about it: our Governor’s refusal to consider revenue increases will result in life-sustaining programs being cut beyond the imaginable; and Trump’s threats to ban Muslim refugees, eliminate ACA, cut Violence Against Women Act domestic violence centers, make abortion illegal, eliminate regulation of the fossil fuel industry, and deport our immigrant neighbors will result in the deaths of unknown numbers of innocent people. All politics are moral or immoral. All budgets are moral or immoral. Join us as we draw attention to this truth while we also acknowledge that a 5-minute symbolic death comes at no cost to us. The real costs will be borne by others who are largely black and brown, and poor. To Share this Action: When you email your friends to invite them to join you, share the link to this post and then repost it on FB, encouraging all your FB friends to meet you at the Roundhouse on Monday….and to wear black.

Media Manipulation: This article outlines concisely 11 ways that the media manipulates public debate by what it reports, what it doesn’t report, and how it frames information. # 5 and # 6 are explicitly about the use of language that manipulates and misleads. This is an important read for all of you. Click here to read the article.

How We Must Respond to Media Manipulation. I am often asking you to reach out to your progressive friends to try to activate them, not persuade them. But we also need to reach out to friends and family who have been misled by media strategies described in the article above and may have supported Trump. If we are going to be effective in this action, we need to be able to use moral language that gets beyond “issues’ and focuses on human beings with human needs, human needs that we all share. Click here for a short article by George Lakoff that explains how you can use moral language and be more effective in communicating with others. For anyone who is actively engaging in communication with others about our current political situation (and that should be all of us), this is a must read.

A Powerful Example of the Use of Moral Language and How to Use the Human Face of Policy to Impact Others and Change Minds. Click here for a four-minute video by Keith Olbermann, who is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful spokespeople for our moral outrage. This is a riveting video focuses on one Muslim infant and her family and their desperate effort to get to America. The use of moral language here is very effective.

How a Trump Supporter and Muslim-Hater Did a 180 and now is Fervent Advocate for Muslim Rights. A very short and powerful video that illustrates how confronting the human consequences and the moral implications of policies can change minds. We need hope. It will give you hope. Hang in there and please join us for our Moral Monday at the Roundhouse, Feb. 20 (see above).

That’s it for today. In solidarity, Paul & Roxanne. PS. This is a very good post to share, so send this around, post it on Facebook, and keep the link for future use.