The Framing Wars Summary

September 11th was a tragic day for the American people as we witnessed the economic and military symbols of our great country go up in flames. Hijackers overcame authorities on four different planes and used them to inflict insufferable damage amongst our people. Two planes crashed into the North and South towers of what was known as the World Trade Center that ultimately caused its collapse. The collapse killed thousands of people who were trapped in and around the building and even affected other structures within the city as debris fell from the buildings and filled the streets of Manhattan, New York. A third plane was crashed into our Department of Defense otherwise known as the Pentagon and the very last plane which was directed towards

In his cover story, “The Framing Wars”, he offers us insight to how politicians use rhetoric and other methods in order to sway us into the path they want. As such, George Lakoff, a professor and professional linguist at the University of Berkeley, describes to us how politicians covertly work. Lakoff stresses the importance of language and how wordplay triggers specific images in our minds. By camouflaging words, we can relate phrases into these specific images as he states, –“”love as journey”… you are more likely to relate to the story of, say, a breakup if it is described to you with the imagery of a journey.” (Lakoff 716) With the simple use of metaphors, Lakoff introduces to us the concept of “framing.” As the word suggests, framing gives us a picture in our mind when certain words are said. Within our minds, we all have different types of “frames” and how they each get activated is different as well. Most of the time they are activated unconsciously because the words that activate the frames are drilled into our heads over a large amount of time so it comes natural to us. When politicians say a specific combination of words, it unlocks our brain and our decision ends up being influenced. Using this method, their ideologies are expressed and we cannot help but take in the