“Energy crisis.” “Tax relief.” “Voter revolt.” These are everyday phrases that we read in newspapers and take for granted. UC Berkeley professor of linguistics and cognitive science George Lakoff doesn’t. As the author of several books on language and politics, including the excellent Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, Lakoff takes progressives to task for accepting and perpetuating the framework of language set forth by conservative think tanks. Take “tax relief,” for example—one gets relief from sickness, from disease, from exhaustion. In this single phrase, adopted during the Bush administration, conservatives were able to dictate taxes as a plague instead of a patriotic duty. Lakoff appears in conversation with Marin author Joan Ryan on Wednesday, April 28, at 142 Throckmorton Theatre. 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. 7:30pm. $12–$15. 415.383.9600.Gabe Meline
.April 28: George Lakoff at the Throckmorton Theater
