Inside The Progressive and theConservative Mind part II.

John Wayne, the ultimate American icon for the strict father morality.

In yeterdays post I discussed the two models of family that exist pretty universally in the consciousness of every United States citizen. There is the Nurturant Parent worldview, that is to say the progressive worldview and there is the Strict Father Morality worldview. It is important to note that these are not mutually exclusive views. In fact, George Lakoff points out that nearly every American has both of these models ingrained withing them. All of us have experienced both of them in their lifetime, all of us have an intuitive understanding of these models of the family. Lakoff also points out that each model has its place and may be appropriate at different situations.

But he makes it clear that progressives ultimately view the world through the lens of the Nurturant Parent and conservatives use the Strict Father Morality. Thus, conservatives and progressives can have a debate on the same subject, essentially agree on a solution and come up with radically different approaches to achieve it.

Honestly, until I read Lakoff, I was forced to assume that conservatives were either mean or crazy. I simply did not have an insight into the mental framework they operated from. Their actions simply did not make sense. I still do not agree with their actions, but now I have a context by which I can understand them better.

More to come.