<\/p>\n
In 2004, a little book appeared that made quite a splash Yesterday, in the dueling national security speeches of former On one hand, Vice-President Cheney enacted the part of the And it was implicitly religious in the style of a Puritan In contrast, President Obama’s speech embodied many of the However, Obama turned the prism of nurturing parent politics This emphasis on the law-as-nurturing parent helps explain It is also a profoundly Judeo-Christian vision.\u00a0 <\/span>The law–as summed up in the injunction Obama isn’t trying to mediate between liberals and Happy are those who do <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2004, a little book appeared that made quite a splash among dispirited Democrats:\u00a0 George Lakoff’s Don’t Think of an Elephant.\u00a0 In it, Lakoff argued that Republicans and Democrats worked out of two different “framing” stories–frames are “mental structures that shape the way we see the world.”\u00a0 Republicans frame their politics in the terms of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,36,15,9,69,370,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christians","category-defining-progressive","category-jews","category-religion-in-the-public-square","category-terrorism","category-torture","category-u-s-constitution"],"yoast_head":"\n
\namong dispirited Democrats:\u00a0 <\/span>George
\nLakoff’s Don’t Think of an Elephant.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>In it, Lakoff argued that
\nRepublicans and Democrats worked out of two different “framing” stories–frames
\nare “mental structures that shape the way we see the world.”\u00a0 <\/span>Republicans frame their politics in the
\nterms of “a strict father family,” while Democrats frame theirs on the ideal of
\na “nurturant parent family.”\u00a0
\n<\/span>According to Lakoff, the party with the most compelling storyline often
\n“wins” in public discourse.<\/p>\n
\nVice-President Cheney and President Obama, the two storylines stood in stark
\ncontrast–a visible demonstration of the difference between political approaches.<\/p>\n
\nstrict father.\u00a0 <\/span>He chided Obama as
\na parent might correct an erring child–delivering a verbal conservative
\nspanking to the young upstart who (according to Cheney) doesn’t understand the
\nways of the real world.\u00a0 <\/span>He
\nprotected the traditions of the older generation, applauding himself for his
\nown wisdom and insight–all the while reassuring the rest of the fearful family
\nthat his way is the right way.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Stay on the course of the Fathers (Cheney and Bush) and all will be
\nwell.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n
\njeremiad.\u00a0 <\/span>Cheney chastised the new
\nadministration for the sin of departing from the true path and threatened
\nhellfire and damnation would result.\u00a0
\n<\/span>He insisted Obama repent and return.\u00a0 <\/span>Only then can the nation be saved.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a narrative masterwork of the old Republican
\nframe–brilliant, scary, intimidating, and bizarrely reassuring all at the same
\ntime.<\/p>\n
\ncharacteristics of nurturing parent politics–he empathized with people’s
\nworries about terrorism, and reiterated his commitment to national security
\n(thus allowing for maximum human happiness).\u00a0 <\/span>He brought themes of freedom, fairness, community-building,
\ntrust, and open communication to the discussion–all of which are the nurturing
\nvalues of progressive politics.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n
\nin an interesting and unexpected way.\u00a0
\n<\/span>Historically, progressives have said, “I empathize with you” (as did
\nBill Clinton), “These policies empathize with you” (as did Jimmy Carter), or
\n“The government empathizes with you” (as did FDR).\u00a0 <\/span>But President Obama essentially said, “The law empathizes with you.”<\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>The entire speech, delivered at the National Archives (the
\nbuilding that houses our most cherished legal documents), argued that the
\nclosest possible attention to the traditions of the law would both protect us
\nfrom harm and save our national soul.\u00a0
\n<\/span>The nurturing parent is not an individual, policies, or government.\u00a0 <\/span>In Obama’s progressive politics, the
\nlaw nurtures the American family with its hopes for happiness, fairness,
\ncommunity, and justice.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n
\nObama’s own coolheaded and dispassionate nature–he is able to stand alongside
\nan issue and analyze it through the lens of legal traditions.\u00a0 <\/span>And it also explains his remark on
\nwanting an “empathetic” Supreme Court justice.\u00a0 <\/span>He wants someone who shares this vision of the nurturant law
\nas his legacy on the Court.<\/p>\n
\nto love God and love one’s neighbor–saves.\u00a0 <\/span>The law is not a set of rules to be adhered to in every
\ncircumstance (as some people misinterpret it); rather, the law is a summary of
\ndivine wisdom of how to shape a community in both devotion and ethics.\u00a0 <\/span>As rabbis, ministers, and theologians
\nknow, the law both instructs and empathizes.\u00a0 <\/span>According to Jewish and Christian scriptures, the law
\ndelights; the law forms the soul; the law teaches; the law nourishes; the law
\nguides; the law frees; the law protects.\u00a0
\n<\/span>The law establishes Israel; Jesus reaffirmed the grace-filled power of
\nthe law in his own teaching:\u00a0 <\/span>The
\nlaw is life.<\/p>\n
\nconservatives as Dick Cheney charged.\u00a0
\n<\/span>The President is trying to create an entirely new vision of progressive
\npolitics–one based deeply in American law, and one anchored in the wisdom
\ntraditions of Judaism and Christianity.\u00a0
\n<\/span>A progressive revival–both secular and sacred–of American community
\nthrough the Law.<\/p>\n
\nnot follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread or sit
\nin the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on
\nhis law they meditate day and night.\u00a0
\n<\/span>They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit
\nin its season, and their leaves do not wither.\u00a0 <\/span>In all that they do, they prosper.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Psalms 1:1-3.<\/p>\n