How to stay focused on OUR message and not let an opponent create the soundbite that they want

September 22, 2019 GlenAnderson Conflict Resolution (Also see Nonviolence), Conservatism and Right Wing, Health Care Reform, Organizing & Activism (Also see Nonviolence, Outreach), Our Current Political Crisis (in addition to Trump and Trumpism), Outreach, Framing/Reframing (Also see Organizing & Activism) 0

 

For EVERY issue we work on, we need to COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY with various kinds of audiences.  Sometimes this includes people who disagree with us — and sometimes people who want to attack or derail us.

In order to make progress, we need to stand strong on OUR messages and not letting anyone hijack the conversation or distract the other listeners.  This is true whether we’re talking about Universal Single-Payer health care, changing our economic system, protecting the climate, abolishing nuclear weapons, or any other issue.

HERE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE:

Universal Single-Payer health care (“Medicare for All”) would save people a lot of money if we do it right. Elizabeth Warren stayed strongly on that point and refused to let an opponent drag her into a sound-bite about raising taxes. This article cites the back-and-forth in which Elizabeth Warren stayed strong: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/24/1881024/-Elizabeth-Warren-is-defining-the-terms-of-the-debate-it-s-the-only-way-to-beat-Trump-in-2020?detail=emaildksp

 

 

 

 

 

 

About GlenAnderson 1514 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org