BG was a bit cheeky but really, this is hardly surprising. It’s long been known that people shape the world to fit their preconceptions.
The article goes on to say:
I don’t see how the findings can prove useful on the campaign trail. The tactic used now is to trash your opponent early and often thus creating the negative preconceptions their entire campaign will be viewed through. This also is the reason for the intensity of the “blame game”. Political operatives fight so hard to create a favorable initial impression of an event because later facts will be shoehorned into that preconception.
It’s nice to have some physiological confirmation of this phenomenon but it’s hardly a revelation.
I predict that any such cure will be banned in a way that will make laws against heroin use look permissive. Existing governments are not likely to welcome rationallity among voters.
There’s already a communications technique called “framing” used by politicians, advertisers and persuaders of all types.
Basically, it involves finding out the sucker’s – excuse me, message recipient’s – hot buttons, and using key words and messages to connect with it.
Let’s say I want to energize my base of liberals to support my proposed tax increase. I’d use words like “fairness” and “justice” which are concepts liberals strongly believe they “own.”
When I talked to conservatives about my tax increase, I’d frame it in terms of “deficit reduction” and “fiscal accountability” – conservative favorites.
Result – both sides get the message they’d rather hear and I get my tax increase.
A tactic used by cults and tyrannical governments is to frame the situation so there is no legitimate way to disagree with the leadership. In a cult if you disagree with the leadership it is framed so that your motive is always selfishness, the result of demonistic infiltration or ignorance and never due to legitimate complaints. I see people in politics do it all the time. They’ll frame it so that any resistance to government policy is due to foreign espionage (ie, the USSR claiming people fighting for human rights worked for the CIA), or communism (Pinochet for example), or selfish capitalism, or ignorance.
In America we aren’t as intense at it, but we still do it. I know alot of conservatives who are disgusted by the idea of being liberal and alot of liberals who are disgusted by George Bush.
Isn’t the old cry. "If you are too vocal against the war in Iraq then you’re not a patriot, or the slightly more subtle, you’re not supporting the troops. "you’re hurting the troops moral or some such nonsense. We’ve heard that crap for quite a while.
I get a couple of Emails from liberal organizations and you see a similar thing. Instead of simply presenting an issue and explaining why they don’t agree it’s an alarmist presentation. ACT NOW!! STOP THE INJUSTICE! It only makes it harder to sort out the details of the issues.
You see the same mindset reflected in religious organizations. Any kind of skewed reasoning that justifies what we’ve already decided is true is adequate. This isn’t really news.
In the political arena I think it’s time for the moderates to get mad. We need some organization like media matters or the other site that busted both sides for misrepresenting the facts to promote their own ideas. We need to impress upon the public and through them the politicians, that the issues are too important for them to screw with dishonestly for their own gain.
