By Rosemary B. Althoff
Since the Nov. 2026 election in my country (USA), I see an uplift of many people’s moods. Including mine. It appears that the rabid contingent of Republicans will have constraints on their greed and bullying.
However, my background in public opinion theory and communication research show me a big warning for the choices America makes from here.
Let me explain, or else scroll to the end of this post to just read the warning.
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In grad school (1995) at Cleveland State University, I dived into metaphor and frame theories to use in my public opinion research. One much-appreciated resource was a book by George Lakoff. I’d read his book, Metaphors We Live By, several times in the university library. (I couldn’t afford to buy it.) Then somebody stole Lakoff’s book. Augh!
But the CSU library quickly acquired another Lakoff publication that made me laugh.
I found George Lakoff’s 1995 academic paper, “Metaphor, Morality, and Politics, Or, Why Conservatives Have Left Liberals in the Dust.” At first, being at that time a hard-headed conservative, I gloated while I laughed. “Yay, conservatives and Republicans; keep those nasty Democrats coughing behind in the dust.”
Later as I aged and got better at distinguishing truths & facts from strongly held opinions, I laughed again. This time it was with relief at leaving my stinking all-or-nothing thinking behind in the dust.
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Here are foundations for straight, both-and thinking:
– I can love unconditionally without being either a liberal or a conservative.
– I do live under authority. (Everyone does. The Creator God exists, and we live under His government.)
– I can impose natural and logical consequences for misbehaviors.
– Some documents can be trusted. Like the U.S. Constitution. (Use the historical grammatical method of interpretation. The other methods tend to make meanings up for grabs.)
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Here’s the warning:
My beloved country, please consider using straight thoughts to guide your directions. Or, your too-many missed arrows could impale us.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me with:
- Unconditional love. That’s love that follows the “Golden Rule.” (Example: Love your neighbor as yourself.)
- Setting sensible boundaries and imposing natural and logical consequences.
Amen!
