Metaphors In A Minority President

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Recommended: Merits and demerits of progressivism

The Unconscious Conscience

Morality has been a compass, guiding humankind since time immemorial. What is viewed as right or wrong would likely be influenced by the individual’s values and worldview. What if there is a way to alter this compass in the hearts and minds of the people?

In “A Minority President”, George Lakoff explains the hidden potential of “conceptual metaphors” in the political arena and how Trump has successfully harnessed its power to temporarily sway the American compass. Lakoff argues that the 2016 United States (US) Presidential Election polls has failed to select the leader of the people’s choice, attributing it to the polls’ inability to reflect the values of the American population. Lastly, he suggests a formation …show more content…

“Conceptual metaphors” are extended to American politics; painting progressives as “nurturing parents” and conservatives as “strict father figures”. Intuitively, each side would enact and support policies congruent to their respective values and worldviews. Additional insights are given on Trump’s rhetoric, presenting him as the “Clever Trump” who manipulates his audiences’ “unconscious thought”. This is done through the repetition of positive phrases, creating a positive association with his persona in the audiences’ unconscious conscience. The opposite is true with his opponents. He incites fear and creates the opportunity to associate himself as the “strict father figure” that the US needs. Furthermore, framing Hillary Clinton as a dishonest cheat and Obama as an incompetent leader, casts doubt on the legitimacy Democratic Party. With the promise to “make America great again”, Trump masterfully herds the public to favour him …show more content…

Minority”. This may be Lakoff’s own attempt at speaking to our unconscious conscience, repetitively associating Trump with these negative terms. Simultaneously, a nuanced approach is applied to ridicule groups supporting similar “strict father” policies. An implicit association can be drawn from Laissez-Faire free marketeers wanting to “eliminate public schools”, and the white working class seeing itself as “superior to non-whites”. Conservatives are further associated with being selfish; Lakoff asserts how they view responsibility as an individual matter, disregarding their responsibility to the larger society they live in. The illustration of strict conservatives ruling with a “moral hierarchy” seems to conflict American principles of freedom and equality. On the contrary, progressive values are associated with “empathy”, “care”, and “nurture”. Following Ernest J. Wrage’s concept, Lakoff did not criticise Trump alone, but also the larger set of strict conservative values that Trump represents. (Wrage,

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