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By Allen L Roland (about the author)
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Once Democrats switch their story from 'mob at the gates' to 'rot at the top' ~ then the debate will change and victory will follow .
The victory formula for Democrats is so simple but it demands that Democrats get beyond the present 'Mob at the gates ' mentality which plays into the Republican fear agenda.
Here is a far more powerful ' Rot at the Top ' mentality which utilizes truth versus fear and will energize the party from the bottom up.
In other words ~ we Democrats need to change our story and we need to change it soon.
The idea here is that there are 4 key 'stories' through which all Americans understand politics ~ and it comes from a piece called 'The Lost Art Of Democratic Narrative' written by Robert Reich, former cabinet member under Bill Clinton.
This description from Democracy Arsenal, and written by Jeffrey Feldman, is a good synopsis of Reich's point:
" Robert Reich has an interesting piece in this week's New Republic where he talks about the need for progressives to reclaim the four basic narratives that have defined American politics: The two hopeful variants are the Triumphant Individual (a la Horatio Alger and Erin Brockovich) and the Benevolent Community (barn raisers and It's a Wonderful Life). The flip-side are two fearsome parables: The Mob at the Gates (everything from Nazi Germany to Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and the Rot at the Top (from the robber barons to the latest accounting scandals)."
Reich's argument is simple: Democrats have given up interest in driving the debate into their stories. And as a result, the Republicans have driven the debate into their story.
So, when Americans try to decide what is right or wrong, and how we should act in the world to be good people ~ we do so according to the plot of the story chosen for us and dominated by Republicans.
Here are some obvious examples;
In our current political moment, every single political issue is being dominated by a Republican version of the 'mob at the gates' story. And every decision we are making as Americans is based on how we see ourselves relative to the 'plot' in the story.
I Mean Every Single issue.
The alternative to the Republican 'mob at the gates' story is for Democrats to drive the debate into a 'rot at the top' story.
To understand what this looks like, consider the following recent debates in terms of 'story' and 'plot' from the perspective of these two stories:
IMMIGRATION
"Mob at the Gates" - America faces danger: hoardes of immigrants crossing our open borders. To protect ourselves from this danger: send troops to the border, build a wall.
Become a Fan (17 fans) -- Page 1 of 3 page(s)
The victory formula for Democrats is so simple but it demands that Democrats get beyond the present 'Mob at the gates ' mentality which plays into the Republican fear agenda.
Here is a far more powerful ' Rot at the Top ' mentality which utilizes truth versus fear and will energize the party from the bottom up.
In other words ~ we Democrats need to change our story and we need to change it soon.
The idea here is that there are 4 key 'stories' through which all Americans understand politics ~ and it comes from a piece called 'The Lost Art Of Democratic Narrative' written by Robert Reich, former cabinet member under Bill Clinton.
This description from Democracy Arsenal, and written by Jeffrey Feldman, is a good synopsis of Reich's point:
" Robert Reich has an interesting piece in this week's New Republic where he talks about the need for progressives to reclaim the four basic narratives that have defined American politics: The two hopeful variants are the Triumphant Individual (a la Horatio Alger and Erin Brockovich) and the Benevolent Community (barn raisers and It's a Wonderful Life). The flip-side are two fearsome parables: The Mob at the Gates (everything from Nazi Germany to Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and the Rot at the Top (from the robber barons to the latest accounting scandals)."
Reich's argument is simple: Democrats have given up interest in driving the debate into their stories. And as a result, the Republicans have driven the debate into their story.
So, when Americans try to decide what is right or wrong, and how we should act in the world to be good people ~ we do so according to the plot of the story chosen for us and dominated by Republicans.
Here are some obvious examples;
In our current political moment, every single political issue is being dominated by a Republican version of the 'mob at the gates' story. And every decision we are making as Americans is based on how we see ourselves relative to the 'plot' in the story.
I Mean Every Single issue.
The alternative to the Republican 'mob at the gates' story is for Democrats to drive the debate into a 'rot at the top' story.
To understand what this looks like, consider the following recent debates in terms of 'story' and 'plot' from the perspective of these two stories:
IMMIGRATION
"Mob at the Gates" - America faces danger: hoardes of immigrants crossing our open borders. To protect ourselves from this danger: send troops to the border, build a wall.
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http://www.allenroland.com
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website more...)
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