The left has failed where the right has succeeded in that too often we turn simple concepts into phd theses while the right has mastered the art of communicating complex issues in simple blurbs
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Solving a problem (lack of universal health care) is way harder to communicate than Death Panels. Baby Killer is a far more effective blurb than accessible prenatal care.
You mean with slogans that don’t reflect the facts. The Reich lies esp with its propaganda all the time- making it easier to come up with snazzy titles & quotes -it doesn’t have to be true
But it's very hard to communicate about solutions to real patients when you're committed to honesty and integrity, and the other side is unconstrained by such limitations
Oh and don't forget having to work past and around the right wing disinformation/conspiracy ecosystem. I'm not that interested in listening to people who blame Democrats for "not communicating well" but don't acknowledge in the same breath that the media infrastructure is pathologically broken
Real leftists have the burden of raising the class consciousness of the working class, while both liberals and fascists only have the burden of suppressing it, whether by violence, falsehood, or even mere omission
It's unfortunate that policy is complicated, and can't fit on a bumper sticker unless the right are willing to lie about it.
The truth and factual information generally won't fit on a sticker. I don't know how to resolve that.
Agreed. It would also help if the mainstream media and social media platforms that are all almost exclusively owned by pernicious, fascist-aligned billionaires who don't want to pay taxes or treat their employees fairly, were honest information brokers.
They are not.
Though with a UK focus, this is a great interview with Stephen Fry. He doesn’t specifically address language but doesn’t speak to people on the left often bogging their messaging down so that it becomes irritating.
The MAGA right wants to keep wrecking the planet to make a few people disgustingly rich. The left wants to build a sustainable future that works for everyone.
This is partially true — but there’s also the thing where one side tries to be somewhat respectful of reality and the other has no problem flinging shit with absolute abandon.
No!
We must expound on every single possible scintilla of nuance, so that The Public (especially those all-important ‘Undecideds’ and ‘Swing Voters’) can make a well-reasoned and thoroughly-investigated decision.
Messaging simply, directly, and memorably is insulting to The Public's intellect.
but the big difference is that on the right they have established they can lie about any topic to any audience at any time without consequence and it’s a lot easier to communicate when you just lie all the time
Let's be honest, they're not communicating complex issues in simple blurbs. Their understanding of the issue actually is that simple, and the simple minds agree.
But they don’t really communicate complex issues. They reduce complex issues to simplistic absolutes. It wins elections, but betrays the general welfare.
It’s why you lost. It’s not ok to call over half the country racist including POC, just because they aren’t happy with the Democratic Party. And you’ll continue to lose because of it.
That doesn’t mean we need to be teaching CRT or that Beyoncé is more oppressed than Joe Schmoe, but if we cannot admit the problem, then how do we solve these things?
Cause this desegregated, diverse world doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere.
and the simple blurbs have little basis in reality. Low wages is not the problem. School shootings are not a problem. Drug smuggling is not a problem. Those are all symptoms of deeper, systemic problems that politics cannot address.
The left has attempted to appeal to logic and reason, whereas the right targets an emotional response. If the target audience is emotionally charged, they are more likely to accept any information being fed. Since the message is to be angry/upset about something. Truth be damned.
Ehhh this isn't wrong, but it's more than that. The left is fighting for change which means we have to fight against peoples current concept of the world.
Action always Trumps inaction.. see what I did there?
I made a joke using a Nazi, that’s not easy.🤪
The left will literally be brainstorm ideas about the next legal steps they want to present to their right wing legal team, while they are queuing for the showers in concentration camps.
Ah but they don’t communicate the ideas so much as obfuscate the issues. If you don’t believe me, find an idiot and talk to them about the “death tax.”
Yip. We read memes, not books. and listen uncritically to podcasts. I guess politics has always been about memes, slogans, blurbs, like commercial ads. It’s what we’re used to, what we feel comfortable with. People these days are so easily intimidated, so fearful of being judged.
I think it's moreso that there's no delivery vehicle. Internet stuff is cool for Internet folks, but despite how it feels most people aren't out here looking for this stuff. If they are on socials, there's no definitive entity big enough to get pushed beyond those seeking it.
I don't think they communicate anything complex at all. And what left? If you mean the actual left, yeah, a lot of ideas can be relayed and explained without justifying simple concepts like 2+2=4. No need to ground everything, because that is in fact impossible, it's got a proof for it to. Lol
Dems have not communicated well to include not calling out liars not highlighting major successes like infrastructure bills. The Republicans vote against then take credit.
While Rs win people over with sound bites - Every complex problem has a quick, simple solution, that's wrong. (Mencken)
Yeah, this exactly. And heaven help you if you want a bit of nuance. The reality is that most important things in life cannot be distilled into tidy sound bites. A successful society is based on trust, but unfortunately that was one of the first things that was dismantled in the social media era.
If by "simple blurbs", you mean 3 word chanted slogans, you are right.
They break down a complex issue into three word anti-slogand "lock her up", "defund the police", "all lives matter".
You can't put the meat of a complex issue on a t-shirt.
It's two different games. The master's tools cannot dismantle the master's house. Sloganizing won't carry us anywhere worthwhile or meaningful. Freire understood this: the good work is the hard work, the humbling work, and the patient work.
We can start with such things as "freedom is" and "freedom isn't".
For example.
"Freedom isn't book banning"
"Freedom is voting"
"Fascism isn't freedom"
Fact is, you have to meet them where they are, and they are 3 word slogans.
Them saying "only 2 sexes", and responding with 34 articles
> It is necessary to trust in the oppressed and in their ability to reason. Whoever lacks this trust will fail to initiate (or will abandon) dialogue, reflection, and communication, and will fall into using slogans, communiqués, monologues, and instructions.
— Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
The right has succeeded at mastering the ability to lie, to set targets for people's anger, to give people permission to hate, and to appeal to the most simplistict understanding of complex issues. There, fixed it for you
Blurbs, Soundbites, & Slogans. They roll off the tongues of those who don’t WANT to THINK and are easily understood/believed by them. No matter HOW nonsensical/cognitive dissonant those concepts might be.
It’s not that ‘Facts don’t matter’? It’s that COMMON SENSE is no longer relevant.
Also Trapdinawrpool doesn't really seem to understand the purpose of "communicating"
Some of these issues seem "complex" because "the left" needs paradigm shifts (if not full breakdowns) for a lot of their "simple concepts" to take place so the system isn't replicated with new people in place.
Dear, the right "won" by telling straight up *lies* that conform to (too many) people's unreasonable biases. That's it. Pretending that this is *anything else is just folks unwilling to face the reality of the masses reflective whims.
Disagree. The right's tactic is to dismiss & distract from complex issues by creating logical-sounding lies to explain complex problems. The problem with the left is we want to retain our souls as we fight political battles, & the only way to do that is to try and explain the complex issues honestly
This, honestly. And when they've tried simple, they get misconstrued and appropriated in a way that lacks their original intent.
"Defund the police" sounds like an attack, not a criticism. So it validates their world view. "Black Lives Matter" fit into their DEI/affirmative action rhetoric.
Yeah. The communication is tough, because we've been training people not to listen since Mulroney was PM. Now you get a short phrase, 3 to 5 words. Thè right has it down.
I use Gaza and UHC as classic examples, where the Dems politicians hem and haw about complications and complexities, but their constituents are HOWLING for action.
The GOP does what their passionate voters want them to do, while the Dems dance around details and making excuses.
I can't help you if you think that funding the war machine is more important that assuring trans people have rights (37 of 50 Democrat Senators voted with the Republicans to be transphobic)
There is no strategically bending to the will of Republicans which won't alienate voters from the party. You can't go around saying Republicans are the worst thing since WWII and then be collaborators with the worst people this side of WWII.
If I understand you right, we’re saying the same thing:
The voting base, especially the younger, is overwhelmingly Pro-Gaza, and that by not understanding that, Harris sunk her own campaign. Sticking by Israel pissed off a lot of the voters she needed.
They do NOT communicate complex issues. They replace communication on complex issues with a kindergarten version of the lie over that issue, and then pound that lie into the cerebral cortex of their under-educated audience until that becomes their reality.
And the right provides overly simplistic black & white solutions to complex issues that require thought & nuance. Hence, the need to dumb everything down to a 4th grade level. Like “Build a 3000 mile wall & Mexico will pay for it”. Lies with non-solutions that don’t fix the issue. The GOP way!
Bernie tried that with Medicare for All. Centrist Dems destroyed it. BOTH parties are dependent on the same billionaires. One second Bezos gives to Obama’s foundation and the next to Trump’s inauguration
Dems need to wage a culture war like the GOP does on trans people but instead on billionaires.
We also have a sect calling themselves communists and arguing the best way to get more communism is to not participate in politics and instead just work at some dudes commune for free and hope it catches on.
So you know a lot of hurdles to climb on this side of things.
I think a nuance here is that the right explains things in such a way that ppl don't feel stupid. It may not always be correct, but it allows room for ppl to draw their own conclusions, which makes them feel more respected.
Not saying it's right, but it works to get that niche of voters.
Yeah….They communicate LIES and DISTORTIONS really well.
We need to keep on telling the truth and how we can save democracy….but say it in plain language so even MAGAts can understand it.
Wrong, the left has failed at facts and phds and focused on simple blurbs while the right has mastered trickery and deception. You don't even know the right has you fooled.
... Which really is not the left's fault, when you think about it.
That said, I don't disagree that it's time for more leaders on the left who can distill energizing messages for the country as a whole; and who are more willing to embrace a truly progressive message & vision
The saddest part is that even with all the time and effort we have put into it we still haven't won the war on Christmas. It looked promising for a while there, alas....
Their biggest strength is talking a lot of bullshit checking on hunter bidden for years, but not on jared kushner, who got 2 billions from the saudi, or on gaetz who bought drugs and has weapons and didn’t include them on his form! hillary followed a senat supoena for 11 hours with a & a, the former
Although the right also starts with simple thoughts and then simplifies them some more, as in "people from other places make me uncomfortable" becomes "build that wall." If you're only asked to care about yourself, that's easy to follow. If you have to care about others, it gets more complicated.
Comments
They mastered the art of lying.
So. Ideas?
The truth and factual information generally won't fit on a sticker. I don't know how to resolve that.
They are not.
What complex issues has the right communicated?
https://youtu.be/d5PR5S4xhXQ?si=ZhPdap6wlSiCTy2R
That's all we need to say.
We must expound on every single possible scintilla of nuance, so that The Public (especially those all-important ‘Undecideds’ and ‘Swing Voters’) can make a well-reasoned and thoroughly-investigated decision.
Messaging simply, directly, and memorably is insulting to The Public's intellect.
🙄
but the big difference is that on the right they have established they can lie about any topic to any audience at any time without consequence and it’s a lot easier to communicate when you just lie all the time
Wired: "nationalize the oil companies and throw the CEOs in prison"
But honestly it's not that hard to communicate to racists that you are also a racist and so let's vote team racism into the White House.
Compare that to the nuances of trying to explain your plan for delivering accessible, affordable, and equitable economic prosperity to all Americans.
Democrats should lie about it, but most voters are bigots and do bigoted things. That’s not unusual and unsolvable. But that is what it is.
It’s like letting an alcoholic lie about how much they drink. If you don’t acknowledge the problem, it gets worse.
Cause this desegregated, diverse world doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere.
Trump supporters are propping up a racist. That is an undeniably racist act. Full stop.
I'd rather lose every election is if means not being a coward and compromising my beliefs.
They use simple blurbs, sure.
However they have not communicated complex issues in decades.
All they communicate is hateful ideas and divisive, corrosive solutions.
Lies can be simplified much more.
If we cannot make COMPLEX win, then we cannot win without giving up our reasons to want to win.
They propagandize trigger issues - that's it.
But, yes the liberals need to communicate with bullet points and evisceration of RW shite.
I made a joke using a Nazi, that’s not easy.🤪
The left will literally be brainstorm ideas about the next legal steps they want to present to their right wing legal team, while they are queuing for the showers in concentration camps.
Just brilliant
We need to stop pretending that well researched ideas can be whittled down without distorting them in the process.
Relying on cheap slogans attracts idiots and dilutes anything of substance.
That half disagrees on how to govern ourselves... but the other half doesn't.
While Rs win people over with sound bites - Every complex problem has a quick, simple solution, that's wrong. (Mencken)
MAGAts don't do nuance for a reason.
You’re comparing Bad apples to oranges.
They break down a complex issue into three word anti-slogand "lock her up", "defund the police", "all lives matter".
You can't put the meat of a complex issue on a t-shirt.
For example.
"Freedom isn't book banning"
"Freedom is voting"
"Fascism isn't freedom"
Fact is, you have to meet them where they are, and they are 3 word slogans.
Them saying "only 2 sexes", and responding with 34 articles
— Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
It’s not that ‘Facts don’t matter’? It’s that COMMON SENSE is no longer relevant.
If you vote for them you are sucker being scammed!
Some of these issues seem "complex" because "the left" needs paradigm shifts (if not full breakdowns) for a lot of their "simple concepts" to take place so the system isn't replicated with new people in place.
"Defund the police" sounds like an attack, not a criticism. So it validates their world view. "Black Lives Matter" fit into their DEI/affirmative action rhetoric.
Dem winning message: "Rich men bad! Free stuff good!
The people that do the work should get the benefit.
Instead republicans replace it with Maga “common sense” so that now they can believe anything.
The Dems can be 100% right factually, but if you cannot connect with the modern EMOTIONAL voter, you are toast.
The GOP does what their passionate voters want them to do, while the Dems dance around details and making excuses.
I think no such thing on either of those topics (and I have now idea where trans rights came into this…)
Anyway, the Dems need to think logically and strategically, or they’ll continue to lose elections.
The voting base, especially the younger, is overwhelmingly Pro-Gaza, and that by not understanding that, Harris sunk her own campaign. Sticking by Israel pissed off a lot of the voters she needed.
People are emotional, one-issue voters now.
Good policy requires nuance
#Medicare4All is easy as hell.
The embrace of "complexity" is how we get shitty means tested neoliberal bs that is designed to both fail and be easy to delete later
Orange guy good, Biden:Harris bad
Dems need to wage a culture war like the GOP does on trans people but instead on billionaires.
Republicans are great at lying.
So you know a lot of hurdles to climb on this side of things.
It won't, but it could.
Trying to argue a point with far reaching connect the dots ramifications will never trump "this thing = bad"
Quickest way between two points is a straight line.
Not saying it's right, but it works to get that niche of voters.
The Reich are tapping into the outrage that they created with decades of policies for the rich, they are good at creating scapegoats.
We need to keep on telling the truth and how we can save democracy….but say it in plain language so even MAGAts can understand it.
The left: Realizes the solutions are complex. But it can't be compacted to something that the median voter can understand.
That said, I don't disagree that it's time for more leaders on the left who can distill energizing messages for the country as a whole; and who are more willing to embrace a truly progressive message & vision
they bullshit the country and work only for personal profits!