The Political Left Needs to Tell the Right Story


Ronald Reagan was a master at story telling. When he wanted support for lower welfare payments and lower taxes he said we should look at the groceries bought by the welfare mom in front of us at the super market. Probably most people have had an eye roll about that. While story telling is not a good practice for decisions on policy, it meets the political needs. One source says liberals need to improve their story telling skills.

Certainly, there are attempts at good story telling on the left. Just now, trans people are telling about their lives and what it is like being born with a body that does not conform to the mind. Liberal churches, parents and friends are needed to tell the trans story. Surely we all have to agree that story telling by gays and their families are part of the reason gay life is better than it once was. Still, of course, conservatives are trying to roll back that progress. 

Individual stories are powerful. The big story about welfare, public education and public health are harder to tell and almost have to be experienced for conservatives to understand. If you are a person with economic security and feel good about your economic and social status, you probably think all this is quite secure. That is how people like us felt before the great depression of the 1930's. Then things changed.

Hungry people became violent. It slowly dawned on affluent people there are not enough sheriffs and police to protect them is anger and violence is widespread. A solution began to dawn on them. It was redistribution of wealth and income, public schools, health and housing for the poor paid dividends to the wealthy. This benefit, a form of self-interest, needs to be learn over and over again. The ultimate form of story-telling is experience. 

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