Your Brain’s Politics

Your Brain’s Politics –
How the Science of Mind Explains the Political Divide
By George Lakoff & Elisabeth Wehling
Imprint Academic – £9.95

The US Pledge of Allegiance says, ”…one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” Well, we just established that America is actually a nation under two Gods. Let’s talk about the God that a conservative president is calling upon when he says, ”God bless America.”

                                                               ‘God Bless America’

I’ve often wondered and been simultaneously annoyed by the highly incredulous dictum that is God Bless America. Why? And why not have God bless the entire world?

For a full shake-up of such tangential misappropriation, might I suggest reading Your Brain’s Politics – How the Science of Mind Explains the Political Divide, an easy to read dissertation on why we (sometimes subliminally) feel and vote the way we do.

At first glance, ”issues like economic inequality, healthcare, climate change and abortion seem unrelated. However, when thinking and talking about them, people reliably fall into two camps: conservative and liberal. What explains this divide? Why do conservatives and liberals hold the positions they do? And what is the conceptual nature of those who decide elections, commonly called the ”political middle?””

Scientific food for thought?

Within these 123 pages (excluding References), George Lakoff and Elisabeth Wehling endeavour to come to terms with how cognitive science has invariably advanced our understanding of both political thought and behaviour; which, as a result, suggests how we ought to somehow re-adjust our long held thinking – not to mention the quasi-rationality thereof.

David Marx