I wasnt planning on making this post about fracking when it began. I was simply going to talk about the importance of narrative. As I started though I thought about stories Ive heard as I meet my neighbors. Theyre stories matter and they keep me motivated. Maybe theyll be part of motivating you as well. _______ Its four in the morning and Im studying the Ganz method of Community Organizing. This is the strategy credited with Obama winning 2 terms. He makes a lot of amazing points. One of the most intriguing takeaway for me is that few people (about 10%) are truly changed by facts. To truly connect you need a great narrative. Pres. Obama has done this well. Youll never hear a speech where he doesnt discuss someone he met and how his policies did or will help them and usually there is a series of three. Rhetoric motivates the base and Narrative wins elections. I think this is one reason were having such a hard time on the fracking ban issue. Were discussing numbers, and DOE studies. The other side is discussing poor air and kids with nose bleeds. Data and charts are great for that 10%, but doesnt change minds. So what does change minds? Discussing families like the one I heard last night who had a $30,000 property evaluation hike so their tax bill shot up hurting their budget immensely and how they cant handle replacing lost income with higher property taxes. Talk about George who at 73 years old on a fixed income cant keep paying every time someone finds something new to be afraid of. Tell of the 164 members of the Denton community who are friends, mothers, fathers, wives, and husbands of every race and creed who depend on those well paying jobs to support their families. These are the real stories and faces behind fracking in Denton. Its not about numbers or studies, but about how the people we love depend on a free economy to survive and follow their hopes and dreams. Sure, we can always do better in getting industry and citizens working side by side. Lets figure out that rather than banning prosperity for our neighbors.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:11:38 +0000
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