The art of persuasion

Mother Jones has an interesting interview entitled How to Talk Like a Conservative (If You Must).

The key, [George Lakoff] says, is not to shift rightward politically, but to lift a few moves from the right’s linguistic playbook. Lakoff is trying to teach liberals what conservatives have known for years: the skill of defining, or “framing,” issues in a way that makes it next to impossible for the other side to contradict you. By consciously and cleverly framing the terms used in the debate, you define the debate itself.

Apparently the recent nostalgia with George Orwell's private life obscured the fact that the use of language to persuade people was central to so much of his work. Hysterical screaming, fist-pounding and chest thumping, while red meat for the True Believers, usually put others on guard. But patiently crafting the terms of the debate in a way favorable to your cause if far more effective in PERSUADING those not already decided.