Naming Our Values

By Carla Kilgore

We know who we are, and we say what we mean. Right? We wouldn’t let those slick political types dictate what we think. Would we?

In Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff, we learn that the way we think about world events, controversial issues, public and corporate policies, and, yes, even religion, is shaped by the rhetoric we hear and speak. Maybe this sounds obvious as you read it, but we in the United States like to think of ourselves as independent thinkers, unswayed by the prevailing culture. This may be particularly true among Church of the Brethren members, who believe ourselves to be apart from the mainstream culture, not deceived by the false idols of the world. So, quick, what is your stand on abortion? I bet you immediately thought of those much-used terms, pro-life or pro-choice, huh? We’ve had this and other issues so defined by the pro and anti camps that we are unable to say what we think without adopting their terms, and their frames of reference.

Without their frames, though, sometimes we don’t know where to put ourselves. For the last few years in our public politics, it has seemed like the people heading the government have done an amazing job of building the frames, while those who have opposed their policies haven’t, leaving many of us feeling like something is wrong, but not being able to clearly articulate what it is. By defining the debate and building the word frames, they get to decide how to picture issues.

For example, I’ve heard people say they are providing “responsible government,” meaning keeping taxes low, cutting fraud and waste, etc. Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to claim that I was providing irresponsible government, but since they defined responsible government that way and got the word out, it is difficult to articulate that I want higher taxes to fund public health care without sounding irresponsible to those who have heard the prior definition. So, politicians and regular people have come to think there is no solution to health care because higher taxes aren’t seen as an option.

Maybe we need to build frames that fit us better, rather than paint ourselves into frames we don’t like. Or, since we are creating our own world, we can build bridges instead of frames if we want. I think the term, “sustainable living” has become one of those positive bridges.

No one wants to think of themselves as living wastefully. It has become a way to call people to a higher ideal of caring for the earth. The Womaen’s Caucus Steering Committee is interested in having us Church of the Brethren feminists build all kinds of bridges by naming our visions for Godde’s kin-dom on earth, and our values to build the kin-dom by. In this way, we can shape our churches and communities rather than being stuck responding to the frames others are defining. Please join us by emailing, writing, calling, and talking with us and with each other about your visions and values.