Tag: civil discourse

David Hains honours me by devoting an entire post on his thoughtful and engaging blog to my little meditation Thursday on elitism and the need to win back the discursive turf. (Full disclosure: I’ve met him in real life and had a beer with him.)

Indeed, he’s addressed the same themes that informed my post and added several degrees of detail and context. Particularly noteworthy in this regard: his discussion of the Evil Word Alchemist Frank Luntz and the coarsening, anti-intellectual effect of organizations like Sun Media. I won’t try to reproduce his arguments word for word; they can stand on their own, and if you haven’t read them, I urge you to do so. His post can be seen here.

David and I are in agreement, I think, about the essential emptiness of the language Team Ford used to capture the mayor’s office. The conversation last fall wasn’t about numbers or facts or policy, because it was clear from the get-go that Ford’s platform couldn’t stand on those. Instead, it was about shallow empty memes like “gravy trains” and “respect for taxpayers” and “mad as hell and not gonna take it any more.” None of those expressions required any thought or reflection. That they had no basis in reality didn’t matter; they had a clear emotional appeal, and with their overtones of divisiveness and resentment and faux populism, they resonated with enough voters to put Rob Ford in office.