alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

February 20, 2008

Framing the Future

by AltHippo @ 2:02 pm. Filed under Life in D.C., 2008 Elections, book discussion

Note: the following is a draft for a post at OpenLeft. The final version is here.

I understand how Bernie Gordon’s Framing the Future (Berret Koehler Publishers, 2008) could be mistaken for a dozen or so other books on progressive framing. While it’s true that Lakoff’s books, or What’s the Matter with Kansas are of the same general milieu, I would approach Framing the Future in different terms.

Imagine for a moment you are one of a community of survivors after a devastating catastrophe. A once great civilization lies in partial ruins. In its capital city boulders obscure the ceremonial fountains, flooding has overtaken the main streets and boulevards, the museums and galleries are looted. Where once sat cafes now is rubble.

You’d want a How-To manual to rebuild the city. The manual should describe the tools you’ll need, how to use them, and for that matter, how not to use them. Framing the Future is such a How-To manual.

Of course, in describing a city post-disaster I mean our society, and by a catastrophe I mean the Reagan and Bush years. The tools are the means of communication we use, and the How-To’s are examples of their use.

To expand the analogy a bit I should add that the city is not being rebuilt in a vacuum; neighboring tribes are anxiously plotting to retake it, and use it for their own ends.

Who is “Framing the Future” addressed to? In the analogy I’m using it’s addressed to those who have an interest in rebuilding the city. In the language of the book, it’s those who have an interest and a platform for addressing the “persuadables.”

And who are the persuadables? We see, (p. 50):
(more…)

Bookmark on del.icio.us

[powered by WordPress.]

hip·po·pot·a·mus n. A notion, perhaps distinct from conventional wisdom, that needs to be verified by reality-based scrutiny.

contact

TBA 2008

The Alternative Hypothesis

the elephants of anwr

issues and insight

capitolists

alt media

sounds

critical resources

flora and fauna

law & order

events

cinema

literati

propaganda

use with extreme caution

internal links:

categories:

search blog:

archives:

November 2008
M T W T F S S
« Oct    
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930

other:

95. Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum (I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.)
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

comments

Recent Comments

HippoWire

  • Recent Trackbacks:

    • 25 queries. 0.419 seconds