Monday, November 10, 2008

Ooo! Soundbites! Yum!

If you went to church yesterday, your pastor/minister/priest most likely delivered a sermon in 3 easy points. Some pastors go as far as 6! (Thankfully, the one pastor I have in mind does it very effectively.) Why do they do that? Did they all get together in a ministerial chatroom and decide they wouldn't try to outdo each other? Is it collective laziness on the part of the clergy?

Nope. The answer is that experience and research has shown that our society, as intelligent or unintelligent as it may be, will follow only a few major points in a speech or lesson. Even those all-day seminars are boiled down to chunks of time that convey a few major points at a sitting.

In this past election, the Obama campaign made full use of this knowledge, boiling their message into what eventually became the mantra of "Hope and Change". When asked for specifics, "Obamans" could recite the mantra and that was enough - for them. Conservatives must be able to communicate their message in equally simple language without being as simpleminded.

For ages, the Republican party has stated that it stands for limited government, strong defense, individual rights for the born and unborn, low taxes, etc. That message has been blurred by the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). I tried to list other groups who might be responsible, but RINOs seem to encompass the lot of them.

How can the Conservative message be boiled down to just 3 main points, and what are those points? I offer:

1. Limited government realizes the value, rights, and liberties of the individual. Under this point falls the theme of being prolife, pro-Constitution, pro 2nd Amendment, etc. Government officials must lose the right to vote themselves pay increases.

2. A strong defense at home and abroad. Under this point falls the theme of strong borders and the idea that peace is won through strength, both demonstrated and implied. We as the United States have been blessed with the resources to protect and defend ourselves and other nations, whether or not it's politically expedient to do so. With that blessing comes responsibility. Enforcing legal immigration does not preclude immigration; it will help keep criminals from settling here, committing the same crimes they committed in their home country, and then escaping back across the border.

3. Lower taxes means lower prices and more saving/spending power for individuals. Under this point falls the fact that corporations don't pay taxes: consumers do. Lowering the taxes on business will lower the prices for individuals. Jobs will be created. Lowering the taxes on individuals will increase spending/saving. This has historically been shown to actually increase the amount of tax revenue coming into the goverment coffers.

There are more issues that could be listed, and maybe a point number 4 could be added, but the argument is this: Create a message that is easily communicated and defended/demonstrated.

1 comment:

Thaddeus said...

Excellent post. I agree 100% with your definitions. I love the RINO acronym. And now look how it's all unraveling for the "messiah." It's easy to make up words - much harder to do something useful.