In Ten Words: What Are Your Honest Liberal Values?

At Alternet, Sally Kohn takes on the notion (most strongly put forth by Framing Guru George Lakoff) that what liberals most need to do is find the words that resonate with a broad swath of the American people. (tip of the pen to sisyphean task on this)

Kohn counters: why not just find the words that accurately represent what liberals really stand for?

The U.S. public isn’t stupid…. Why not just be honest?

If we’re pretty much stuck on the losing side of Washington for a while, why not fill our time trying to broaden the range of political debate to include our real vision for the future, rather than pitch a mushy, centrist vision for the country that fails to inspire the public? It amounts to sly begging at the policy table for whatever scraps the right will give us. At the very least, let’s start talking about our short-term policy goals in the context of our bold, alternative vision for the future.

In his piece in the New York Times Magazine on the framing wars between the left and the right, writer Matt Bai cites George Lakoff’s shorthand for the progressive vision: “stronger America, broad prosperity, better future, effective government and mutual responsibility.”

Bai lances Lakoff’s ten words, which amount to a “vague collection of the least objectionable ideas in American life” — neither a discernable nor bold alternative vision.

In barking up trees for an articulate and powerful vision (and frames and all the rest of it), the liberal establishment must learn two things. First, a progressive vision can only come from collecting and echoing the ideas of many voices, not one anointed guru — the progressive vision is anything but elitist. And second, the progressive vision for the future can really only come from, well, progressives. You can’t fake it and mouth big ideas when you really believe in the status quo. That dishonesty shows, too.

I worry that progressives have been self-censoring because we fear that a radical vision is too much for most people to take, and so we’re settling for a mealy-mouthed, centrist gloss. We should start honestly talking about our ideas, our ten words — not abstract values like “fairness” and “justice” but concrete ideas for how a progressive society would be arranged. If I’m being honest about my vision for the future, here are my ten words: participatory democracy, sustainable localism, community ownership, personal liberty and global interdependence.

What are yours?

Over at Tom Vilsack’s pre-presidential-bid website, Heartland PAC, they made a commitment a little while ago to start publishing people’s own collections of Ten Words that describe their political worldview. They haven’t gotten around to it yet, so let me jump the gun.

In your own ten words, can you describe your political vision of a liberal future for America?

My ten words, at least the ones I pick today: individual liberty, collective responsibility, long vision, honesty and empirically based policy.

To echo Sally Kohn, what are your ten words?