The Obama Code

From the Daily Kos and written by the professor who penned the book Don’t Think of an Elephant comes this well thought out exposé of how to decode Obama’s speaches…

What they miss is the Obama Code. For the sake of unity, the President tends to express his moral vision indirectly. Like other self-aware and highly articulate speakers, he connects with his audience using what cognitive scientists call the  “cognitive unconscious.†Speaking naturally, he lets his deepest ideas simply structure what he is saying. If you follow him, the deep ideas are communicated unconsciously and automatically. †The Code is his most effective way to bring the country together around fundamental American values. 

…working at a subconscious level, similar to hypnotism…

This view of government meshes with our national ideal of equality. There needs to be moral equality: equal protection and equal empowerment. We all deserve health care protection, retirement protection, worker protection, employment protection, protection of our civil liberties, and investment protection. Protection and empowerment.

…isn’t it inevitable that some will be more equal than others?  Although, after the abuse of the financial system by hedge funds, bankers and others with a supposed fiduciary duty to others, it’s easy to understand where this author is coming from…

The stimulus package is basically an empowerment package. Taxes are what you pay for living in America, rather than in Congo or Bangladesh. And the more money you make from government protection and empowerment, the more you owe in return. Progressive taxation is a matter of moral accounting. Tax cuts for the middle class mean that the middle class hasn’t been getting as much as it has been contributing to the nation’s productivity for many years. 
This view of government meshes with our national ideal of equality. There needs to be moral equality: equal protection and equal empowerment. We all deserve health care protection, retirement protection, worker protection, employment protection, protection of our civil liberties, and investment protection. Protection and empowerment. 

…and this begs another question — when exactly does “protection” for someone become someone else’s oppression.  And one final point;  at the rate our currency is being abused printed by politicians and bankers, we’ll soon be like Zimbabwe.