10:16, Friday 31 Oct., 2003 Link

George Lakoff tells how conservatives use language to dominate politics: "Language always comes with what is called 'framing.' Every word is defined relative to a conceptual framework. If you have something like 'revolt,' that implies a population that is being ruled unfairly, or assumes it is being ruled unfairly, and that they are throwing off their rulers, which would be considered a good thing. That's a frame. If you then add the word 'voter' in front of 'revolt,' you get a metaphorical meaning saying that the voters are the oppressed people, the governor is the oppressive ruler, that they have ousted him and this is a good thing and all things are good now." The interview goes into the differences between the conservative and progressive worldviews, and why one puts effort into defining the language frameworks and the other doesn't. Good read.