First a note about language and psychology:
When you read the news and then you begin to read the commentary from everyone, notice who starts to use the terms propagated by the media and candidates. For instance, "Elitist" and my personal favorite, "buyer's remorse". Edit: to add "gaffe".
For those who keep claiming that they are only giving their opinions, catch how many times they use the "language" of someone else's opinion. Take your own inventory of yourself and notice if you do the same. It's very interesting and frightening at the same time.
I have spent the last few months noticing a trend that I'm sure has been happening for a very long time. The absorption of language bytes by people who claim to be only sharing their personal opinion yet doing so by using someone else's language.
During this whole mess with Obama being accused of being an "elitist" by other multimillionaires, I'm more aware of the amount of language absorption that seems to be going on.
This is not a pro-candidate blog but it is very apropos in our discussions about politics.
It is believed that children are better at language absorption than adults which is true in the sense of learning a new language but it is very clear that adults are absorbing and regurgitating the many sound-bytes perpetuated by both the candidates and the media to a disturbing level this election. It is almost as if no one is stopping to really consider what is being said or what is really meant.
It is an extremely reactionary response to the deluge of information being thrown upon us as adults trying to decide which candidate best aligns with our concerns and values.
opinions? I'm interested to know if, in your own explorations of this political climate, you've noticed the same things.
Also my boyfriend mention that Kos had a bit about "framing". Does anyone know about this? I think how candidates and media are framing things makes a huge difference in the views people begin to assimilate.