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‘Instead of arguing with Trump supporters, focus on motivating fellow pro-democracy citizens to get more active’

A UC Berkeley linguistics professor emeritus who once believed Republicans “dominated” politics due to how they utilize language, but whose recommendations in that regard have since become staple leftist/Democrat strategy, has some New Year’s ideas to help “defeat the authoritarian threat” and “keep democracy alive” during Trump’s second term.

George Lakoff (pictured), author of “The Little Blue Book: The Essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic” and co-founder of the progressive Rockridge Institute, certainly makes use of that book’s title in his and journalist/former Kamala Harris Communications Director Gil Durán’s list of resolutions.

“Authoritarian” appears in virtually every resolution, and scattered about are phrases such as “undermine freedom,” “rule of law,” and “fascism.”

As a preface, Lakoff and Durán go all the way back to 1943 to note it’s tough to top what Woody Guthrie had offered up:

“Work more and better.
Read lots of good books.
Keep hoping machine running.
Help win war – beat fascism.
Wake up and fight.”

(Get it? The middle of World War II … we’re in a war … against Nazis! Defeat fascism!)

Here’s some of the authors’ resolutions:

— “Be brave.” Authoritarians like it when people feel powerless, and “fascism feeds on cynicism and pessimism.” So make sure you do what you can “to ensure the survival of democracy.”

— “Cultivate empathy.” Authoritarians need “dehumanization, demonization, and division,” so be certain to “understand other people’s feelings and perspectives.”

— “Be proactive.” Getting involved in one’s community ticks off authoritarians (there’s that word again), so “show up to protests and meetings” and donate to groups that do “crucial pro-democracy work.” (If you’re a parent concerned about what’s being taught to your kid, however, you might think twice about showing up to speak at a school board meeting.)

— “Avoid brain rot and lies.” Lakoff and Durán are really concerned about “clickbait traps,” “false stories” and “conspiracy theories” (almost as if 2016-2024 never occurred).

— “Don’t argue with [Trump] supporters.” Because they’re … possessed or something. Or, as Lakoff and Durán put it, “at this point, their support for him is a physical structure in their brains.” Instead, they recommend trying to get more “pro-democracy citizens” involved in things.

— “Remember: This is a regime.” Trump, after all, is just a “puppet” of oligarchs like “co-President” Elon Musk. “When the American people realize that the country is being run for the benefit of a handful of greedy billionaires, the tide will turn,” the authors say.

In a 2003 interview with UC Berkeley News, Lakoff claimed progressives are like a “nurturant parent family” which believes kids are born good, but which (progressive) parents can make better. On the other hand, conservatives follow a “strict father model” that views the world as “dangerous”: Kids are inherently bad and must be made good.

MORE: The Left is upping the ‘oppression’ ante even before Trump takes office

IMAGE: UC Berkeley

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