Specific Response Actions

Specific Response Actions

An effective "pep talk" focuses the energy of the group on a specific course of action.

A "pep talk" shouldn't end with a vague generality ("let's do something"), or a qualification ("maybe ... perhaps . . . if . . ."), or with an undirected, unfocused, hand-wringing, shoulder-shrugging lament ("what can we do") letdown. An effective "pep talk" ends with the call for a specific action, with action words, verbs such as start, fight, endure, change.

Start

Sometimes this can be a simple call for starting motion ( "Let's go . . . move . . . start . . . forward . . . onward") in contrast to passivity, rest, stasis, indecision or inaction.

Eight "magic" words: The verbs used in American political campaigns are extremely important because a "loophole" in the law was created when the Supreme Court ruled that "issue ads" run by political parties, corporations, and unions are not subject to federal election campaign spending limits if they did not use words of express advocacy (i.e., use specific words such as "vote for," "elect," "cast your ballot for," "Smith for Congress," "vote against," "defeat," or "reject").

For more about this important controversy, see: Issue Ads. For example, in the 2000 campaign, $500 million was spent on such issue ads. On December 10, 2003, the Supreme Court closed that legal loophole, but said they were "under no illusion" that politicians would stop seeking another way: "Money, like water, always finds an outlet." Within weeks, the loophole was exploited by both parties with unregulated "soft money" called 527s in the 2004 election campaign.

Fight

Calling for a "fight" or "struggle" is very common, almost an all-purpose call, with its imagery of battle and war. Although this seems simple, it's very effective and frequently used. For example, Robert Sam Anson, in describing the political consultant David Garth (the media campaign manager on whom the movie The Candidate was based) wrote:

"The rhetoric used by Garth and his aides reflects his obsession with combat. A campaign is a 15-rounder. Negative media is counter-punching. Coming from behind is getting off the deck. Winning, naturally, is a knockout. The imagery trails into the slogans Garth devises for many of his candidates: Fighting for the People of Illinois; Strong Enough to Speak His Mind, Tough Enough to Get Results; Give Yourself a Fighting Chance; Tough Young Men for Tough Hard Jobs; You Need a Fighter in Your Corner."

In 2003, the movie actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, campaigning in the Recall for Governor of California, used this same kind of fight imagery: "This is now hand-to-hand combat," Schwarzenegger told more than 1,000 cheering supporters in Santa Maria (Sept. 30, 2003). "This is war!" he shouted. "We're in the trenches, because desperate Davis is hanging out there." (After Schwarzenegger was elected, he called his opponents in the California Legislature "girlie men" - afraid and weak.)

God on Our Side! Religious fervor is often added, identifying the struggle as a fight for God, a battle against the forces of Evil. Many leaders -- of many faiths -- have sought to link their cause with God's will.politicians who are "one of ours" or "on God's side."

Endure

Sometimes the call can be for endurance ("Keep on . . . hold on . . . standfast . . . stick to it"); endurance words and slogans are very common because often efforts need to be sustained for long periods, against odds. Endurance often involves desperate situations in which the opponent is stronger, or in long-standing situations (such as in guerilla warfare) in which the foe is difficult to locate or defeat.

After the 9/11 attacks, President Bush announced that we are in an "endless war" against terrorists. Thus, exhortations for "endurance" (as well as nonverbal gestures of defiance) are likely to be used frequently in the future. During the Iraq war, in 2003-2004, President Bush's oft-repeated favorite phrase was "stay the course" until "victory" was achieved. President Bush criticized his domestic opponents of the Iraq war as being the party of "retreat and defeat" who wanted to "cut and run."

The Bush administration's definition of "victory" was never clear and, in October 2006, the "stay the course" slogan was officially dropped. Then, the linguist George Lakoff noted that it was to stay the course over the cliff: "the first rule of using negatives is that negating a frame activates the frame."

Some Americans see his words and attitudes as bold and defiant, strong and certain; others see his "cowboy rhetoric" as reckless bravado and "phony macho rhetoric."

Certainly his famous (July 3, 2003) "Bring 'em on!" comments have come back to haunt him afterward when hundreds of American soldiers were subsequently killed in the ongoing guerilla war in Iraq. As CCN reported (May 26, 2006): "Bush said the biggest mistake he made was his challenge to insurgent fighters when he dared them to "Bring it on!" "I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner," the President said. "I think in certain parts of the world, it was misinterpreted."

Common endurance phrases and metaphors often used in crisis situations include: "the chips are down," "back against the wall," "last ditch stand," "forced into a corner," "come from behind," "over my dead body"; closely akin to these are metaphors in defiance of danger: "come hell or high water," "through thick or thin ... .. till Hell freezes over."

President Bush gave another prime-time speech (June 28, 2005) on the first anniversary of turning Iraq over to a civilian government, reiterating his endurance promise of resolve that we would stay "as long as we are needed (and not a day longer)... until the fight is won." Hearing that speech, Daniel Ellsberg, the Defense Department writer responsible in 1971 for leaking the secret Pentagon Papers to the press, said that he not only heard all the themes before, but, as a writer for Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, defending US engagement in Vietnam, he had, alas, written the "same kind of workmanlike evasions" about that war.

Historical allusions and quotations are often used to instill esprit de corps and to sustain morale: " Don't give up the ship"... "Hold at all costs" ... "Fight to the last man"... "Hold the fort, for we are coming"... "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" ... "Die with their boots on"... "Winners never quit, quitters never win"... "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"... "Win one for the Gipper" ... the Spartans at Thermopylae ("They shall not pass"), the 3rd Division in WWI ("The Rock of the Marne"), the Alamo.

Endurance Words

continue
defy, defiant
determined, determination
do or die
don't give up, give in, give out
endure, endurance
firm
forward
get going
go on
grit, true grit
guts
hang on
hold, hold on
keep, keep it up, keep on, keep going
never say die
never stop
never surrender on,
onward
outlast
outlive
persist, persistence
press
push
resist, resistance
resolve, resolute, resolution
stamina
stand, standfast, stand up for
stay the course
steady
stick, stick to it, stick to your guns
surmount
survive, survivor
take a stand
upward
withstand
work, work harder

Similar endurance ideas are often expressed by affirming the negative:

"We will not .... run away, retreat, leave, withdraw, flinch, recoil ...
from our duty, our resolve, our job, our mission ... We are not cowards, not wimps."

"Attack words" intensify the opposite, undesirable qualities:

coward, quitter, weak, weakling, shirker, sissy, passive, apathetic, and so on.

Change

Sometimes the call is to re-direct energies (to transform, change, channel, convert) away from "misdirected" or "misguided" efforts into other specific actions. Sometimes the call is to "join," "support," or "donate": actions bonding the individual to the group, for the later ultimate purpose of taking some other action.

Typically, the response is specifically in contradiction to the threat.

Thus, if the threat is dominance by another, then the "cause" is victory, and the response words and slogans will reflect this.

If the Threat is:	Key "Cause" words:	Response sought:
DOMINANCE	Victory, Success	Fight (or) Stop
DEATH OR DESTRUCTION	Security, Safety	Win (or) Stop
INVASION	Home, Country	Keep out (or) Get out
RESTRICTION	Freedom, Liberty	Free (or) Ban
INJUSTICE	Justice, Equality	More (or) Less
CHAOS	Efficiency, Honesty	Keep (or) Change
DAMNATION	Virtue, Goodness	Save (or) Keep

Typical (verbs) & Slogans

DOMINANCE
(GO, CONTINUE, WIN, GAIN, FIGHT)
Power to the People, We're Number One, Venceremos, We Shall Overcome, Sieg Heil,
Down with... Up with...

DEATH & DESTRUCTION
(STOP, BUILD, CREATE, WORK, MAKE)
Stop the killing, Work for Peace, Viva, Long Live...Death to ...

INVASION
(WELCOME, GO IN, KEEP OUT, STAY OUT, GO HOME, RETURN)
The Yanks Are Coming, I Shall Return, Yankee go home, keep out

RESTRICTION
(FREE, LIBERATE, RELEASE, DELIVER, RESCUE)
Freedom Now, Let My People Go, Liberty or Death, Ban the bomb, Keep out

INJUSTICE
(EQUALIZE, INCREASE, BALANCE, RECOVER, RAISE)
Fair Share, Equal Opportunity, Equal Pay for Equal Work, Justice,
Our Turn, Unfair to Labor

CHAOS
(KEEP, PRESERVE, CONSERVE, RE-ELECT, FIX, REFORM)
Keep America Safe, You've Never Had It So Good, Let Us Continue,
Throw the rascals out, Time For a Change

Context influences the wording and meaning of slogans.

"Peace with honor," for example, may mean keep fighting; "Peace at any price" may mean stop fighting.

"No Irish Need Apply" may sound quaint and unfamiliar today, but this phrase, discriminating against the Irish immigrants, was so common in 19th century America, it was simply abbreviated as NINA.

In political struggles, opponents can turn a slogan ("Better Red than Dead" -- "Better Dead than Red") and humorists can create a gallows humor in the midst of serious controversies: "Draft Beer, Not Students," or "Kill a Commie for Christ."

Emotional connotations of these slogans depend much on the receivers' ideology.

The same "victory" slogans might repel some audiences if they heard them being used by the communists ("Hasta La Victoria Siempre" -- Cuba) or the fascists ("Sieg um Jeden Preis" -- Nazi Germany: "Victory at any price"), but might please the same audiences if they heard their local football coach say "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!"

Clusters of related causes will always appear.

Any invasion or restriction, for example, usually involves force, and implies domination. Thus, brief slogans and catchphrases can often cram many related concepts into a few words: "Peace, Prosperity, Progress" (Northern Ireland, Liberal Party); "Unity, Prosperity, Progress" (India, Congress Party); "Sicher Arbeitsplatze, Stabile Wirtschaft" -"Guaranteed Employment, Stable Economy" - Germany Social Democrats).

Focusing the direction of response seeks to get a specific kind of action, the "right" kind.

However, an ethical issue arises: the degree of action must also be appropriate, neither "too much" nor "too little."

The response sought must, in the context of the situation, appear to be reasonable and appropriate.

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