The Power of the Liberal Narrative - 1654 Words

Trudging through the mountains of facts, studies, and opinions relevant to social and political issues creates a daunting task for political strategists, leaving them to decide what information is relevant and essential for the voting public to know, in order to rally the voters to support a certain candidate. However, these mountains of facts and opinions can turn off voters, and scare away many potential supporters, forcing political strategists to also engage the emotional lives of the populace: enter the role of cultural narratives- tales of adventure, sacrifice, defeat, and victory grabbing hold of the emotional lives of the audience, and as George Lakoff points out, â€Å"†¦politics is about the narratives of our culture and our†¦show more content†¦The message next takes on a more subtle tone of character and costuming with the entrance of the banker: a man in a clean suit, with a shiny car, and a big cigar, a perfect juxtaposition of the dirty, tattered farmers , a man very well off forcing those struggling and fighting in their day to day lives off the land which they used to create a meager living. Having been forced off their land and with nowhere else to turn, Tom Joad, his family, and John Casey head to California with dreams of a better life, only to have these dreams smashed upon the rocks of corporate greed. The Joad family arrives to find the worker camps destitute and hungry, with no food even for the children of the camp, and with the works not allowed in town. It seems as though no area of California will present better options, for when the Joad family arrives at the first farm with work available there is a throng of workers on strike outside the farm because the wealthy ranch owners promised a wage of five cents a box, but with the overabundance of workers, the owners only offer two and a half cents per box: more underhanded industry on the part of big business. The anti-corporate message is not the only facet of the liberal narrative; for —perhaps more importantly—the liberal narrative focuses on the characters and the trials andShow MoreRelatedJohn Locke And John Stuart Mill1451 Words   |  6 PagesDid the arguments of classical liberals, such as John Locke and John Stuart Mill, serve to legitimate European imperialism and the dispossession of indigenous peoples? John Locke has been informally known as the grandfather of liberalism. Similarly, John Stuart Mill is regarded as one of the early pioneers of the philosophy of liberalism (Armitage, n.d.). However, both of these liberalists have also been known to openly support the concept of empiricism. 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For example, Mitchell Sanders the resident of the Alpha company and the storyteller tells story consisting of myths to the specifics. The hearing of a sound in