Are You For or Against? It’s All About the Message

Health Care Reform Protester, via Flickr Creative Commons RRR Photos

You probably wonder where the rest of the question is: “For or against – what??” I would argue that it might not matter. That it might depend on the way the question was worded, or the argument was presented, or what day of the week it is, or whether or not you had a good night’s sleep.

That’s not meant to be as snarky as it might sound. I’m writing this following the news that the ‘historic’ health care reform bill was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives just before midnight last night. This after an exhausting year+ of very public discourse – much of it heated, and certainly contrary debate. In truth the debate has raged on and off for a few decades, but it got real wild, scary and ugly this past year. I admit to being a political junky, in that I follow the news on several stations every day, more than once, and also via online sources (including Twitter), blogs, late night parody shows like the Colbert Report and The Daily Show, and sometimes from an old-fashioned print newspaper.

Since I’m in the communications business, I tend to dissect the way messages are constructed and delivered. So much of our ‘news’ (here in the U.S.) is really opinion being couched in leading questions. So if someone asks me, ‘Are you for or against health care reform?’ I’d surely want to know a) who was asking the question, b) what the larger context was, and c) how my answer would be delivered.

I have a wish. I wish that communications professionals – that includes PR folks, journalists, publishers, even marketers and advertisers – would be more upfront about their agendas. If you are trying to persuade me to agree with you, state your position clearly first. Then I can choose to agree or disagree. Stop name-calling, lying, making up facts or other methods of trickery to get people to agree with you. Honest. Open. Dialogue.

Yeah, I’m on a soapbox. And anyone reading this has the right to disagree with me. I’ll try to state the facts as I know them, and you do the same. Advertising can work this way too. It doesn’t have to be misleading to be persuasive. It can be entertaining.

I’m glad and relieved that this bill was finally passed, albeit I don’t think it’s as historic as I’d hoped it would be. Lot’s of people I know feel the same way – but just as many are crying ‘Armageddon‘ (I mean, seriously? Just a little melodramatic on that one?). The saddest thing is that the same folks who tried to stall/stop/spread lies about reform have now immediately jumped into new attempts to overturn things at the State level and threaten to repeal the legislation if a new party comes to power in the next election.

Too much. I’m against those who are always against. And if you keep shouting so loudly – I’m just going to turn you off.

–Donna

P.S. This blog is purely opinion, supported by a few facts.