Political cat warns Americans to be wise listeners and ask more questions. Photo Credit: Good Morning Wendy by Froskeland on flickr cc
The Good, the Bad and the Stupid
Is everything in life always good or always bad or always stupid? No, of course not. Yet, the new Manipulative Talking Points (MTP) coming from the mouth of GOP wordcrafter Frank Luntz on Robin Young’s radio show Here and Now, on 1/18/11, seem to want you to see the world that way.
Will you believe that? Well, it depends how the information is packaged to you. Mr. Luntz uses focus groups to determine exactly how to arrange your perception of reality. You see, facts are not important to Mr. Luntz as he has stated in his books. Getting you to buy a product or believe a particular ideology is what is important to Mr. Luntz and his clients. The Luntz messaging techniques are frequently devoid of factual, scientific, objective reality of whatever is being packaged for you.
Luntz and his proteges manipulate and shape a particular message for their clients with the hope that people who receive that message see reality the way the shaper wants them to see it.
The kittens inform Americans that there are good regulations and good policies. Photo Credit: One bed, two cats b J l J y on Flickr creative commons
The key question: Will the public be able to discern what is a manipulative messaging technique from objective reality? Or, will these manipulative messaging techniques devised by Frank Luntz and colleagues make people stupid?
Will Frank Luntz Messaging on Fox and Friends Make People Stupid?
Is it possible to protect the public from becoming stupid by listening to manipulative talking points? The Luntz messaging is not about informing people, it is about bombarding people with messages that get people upset or that give them a false sense of security.
The new filter that Luntz, the GOP and the conservative think tank folks are trying to force-feed the public is the word “bad.” Recently, GOP politicians, conservative pundits and conservative academics ramped up usage of the word “bad” in front of everything that comes from politicians other than themselves.
Why? They want people to associate “bad” with anything that does not originate from them in an attempt to cause people to hate those things and think they are morally harmful. This is ridiculous and a roadblock to honest civil discourse. Frank Luntz also claimed on Here and Now that he was attending some conference on “civility.” It would be interesting to know exactly where this conference is and what will be discussed. Be watchful for a new definition of “civil discourse” and “civility” now that it is clear people are tired of the hate-filled stereo-typing coming from certain news organizations and politicians.
Frank Luntz wants everyone to see the world in black and white and good and bad as interpreted by those who are his clients and who want to sell you their particular world view.
What are the Good Regulations and Good Policies?
What constitutes a “good” policy or a “good” regulation? Here’s Kitty Reporter’s definition:
“A good policy or regulation is that which protects the general welfare of individuals in society.”
For example:
- Regulations and Policies that protect Americans from food tainted by e-coli.
- Regulations and Policies that protect Americans from predatory practices of certain financial institutions that lead to the tanking of our economy in 2007 to the present.
- Regulations and Policies that insure your child’s toys are safe and free from harmful chemicals and elements like lead which can damage a child’s brain and nervous system.
- Regulations and Policies that insure we have clean drinking water for every American.
- Regulations and Policies that protect Americans from toxic air and guarantee we breathe clean air.
Science to Protect the Air We Breathe
What’s the Point?
There are good regulations and good policies. To think every regulation is bad is stupid, and it is up to responsible individuals and media to properly inform the public instead of regurgitating talking points that disinform people and make them very very stupid.
