--- Michael Dawson <mdawson at pdx.edu> wrote:
> "Moral values" is a _mere_ name, and it is a name for something
> vicious:
> anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-foreigners, anti-black.
Exactly, and it is a negative under the guise of a positive. So is it possible to reclaim it as our own with a Leftist definition, e.g., redefining it to replace the "anti" with economic equality, accessible healthcare, aid to the poor, etc., a la the reclaimation of the word "queer" by gays, or do we reinforce the fundamentalist propaganda?
Example: "Hate is not a family value," was a good sound bite and bumper sticker, but it wasn't given legs or extrapolated into the larger picture for everyone, and it told people what "not" to do. The Right seems to have cornered the market on effective PR icons and window dressing for it's ideology with fear-mongering, yes, but also with a very hefty dose of affirmation, albeit fantasy, to balance and offer a solution to the fear, e.g., a "safer" America under Bush, godliness via "moral values", prosperity by emulating and supporting the rich, and such. Yes, it's all a sham, but it's an effective sham. Where is the Left in establishing such effective PR? I haven't seen it in quite some time.
- Deborah