Welcome to Progressive Talking Points
This new blog will attempt to provide talking points for progressives. I am not a linguist; nor am I a psychologist. Rather, I'm someone who would like to share my ideas on how progressives can frame the debate when discussing politics. You may think some of my ideas are good; you may think others are horrible. Whatever they may be, I'm hoping to spark a few discussions that will help all of us in our political endeavors.
posted by Mason at 4:14 AM
2 Comments:
OK, I have a talking point! It is about reclaiming the language! Specifically the language of the abortion debate which we have ceded to the right wing and must take back! Here is what I have been sending to NARAL, the DNC and to anyone and everyone:
I have supported abortion rights as my single-issue for many years. You can, therefore, imagine my dismay over the recent election.
I am writing everyone I know to urge a change in vocabulary so that we might reclaim our message on women's reproductive rights.
Heretofore, we must abandon the term "pro-life" and replace it with "pro-criminalizaton." Every elected official who proclaims to be anti-abortion must be labeled as "pro-criminalization." That puts the spotlight exactly where it should be and forces the public into an awareness of the gravity of the situation. We should be asking the anti-choice folks questions such as "who should go to jail and for how long?" We must drive home the reality that criminalization is the intended outcome of the anti-choice movement.
Anti-choice advocates have used language to their great advantage by renaming a little-known and little-used medical procedure "partial-birth abortion." Who could be against that? The very term "pro-life" is a misnomer and grants the bearer a high ground that is undeserved because it does not take into consideration the life of the mother.
Could we please stop allowing our opponents to define the vocabulary of the debate?
All together now: "It's the criminalization, Stupid!"
I haven't spent much time thinking about this particular issue, but I agree that another consideration of the frames may be in order. Conservatives were effective by choosing "pro-life" to describe their side, and progressives reasonably countered with "pro-choice." And while reframing the conservative side is something we should work on, I believe we also need to remind the public that everyone is pro-life - progressives differ in that they believe women should have the right to choose for themselves what to do with their own body.
I am certainly willing to read more on this issue, and so I invite further comments about this debate. I will, in the future, address this topic and hopefully we can get more input from people on how they feel we should proceed.
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