“Love is a red red Rose”
Metaphors are wonderful for the fact that it attempts to explain the deepest and most profound theories & ideas in a few simple words. The fact that a rose has thorns, its beautiful fragrance and aesthetic prowess, or the chance that it may shrivel and die; all the aspects of a rose hold a connection to love that can explain the intricacies of that hormonal state we call love. Love is truly a red red rose.
But the problem with this metaphor, as well as with all metaphors, is that while they apply generally to all people, once you get to specific examples and conflicts of love it ceases to hold any relevance. Does the red red rose metaphor describe the a situation where you are married to a women, but since she was married before you have to see her ex-husband all the time? Or when you love someone but their whole family objects to it? The bottom line is that metaphors fail when you attempt to use them in situations that are individual-specific conflicts.
The right side of your brain uses feeling, is “big picture” oriented, where imagination rules, uses symbols and images, looks at present and future, consideres philosophy & religion, it believes, appreciates, has spatial perception, knows object function, is fantasy based, presents possibilities, is impetuous, and is risk taking.
In short the right side of the brain is what causes you to think in metaphorical terms.
The left side of your brain you ask? It uses uses logic, is detail oriented, facts rule, thinks in words and language, connects present and past, math and science, can comprehend, acknowledges, knows order/pattern perception, knows object name, is reality based, forms strategies, and is practical & safe
The reason for stating all this is to throw two more metaphors at you:
Now the question I pose, is should politicians deal in metaphors? Should politics in general emphasize metaphors? Am I wrong to reason that politics and government should deal in left-brain activities not the metaphoric nature of the right-side of the brain?
But politics and government are slowly becoming a huge, boring metaphor. Barack Obama is a prime example of that. His policies are thrown to the back burner while metaphorical ideas and his “All-American story” is spun every which way to cater to peoples of different backgrounds who are supposed to relate. Hell, you can even purchase his “All-American” Story.
Barack Obama is very much a right-side of the brain thinker as his eloquent speeches have shown. Obama is an individual that embraces the metaphor and a major faction of the American people, as well as the world, have embraced the metaphor that is Barack Obama. Obama’s metaphor has been interpreted through song and through art. Obama’s metaphor, for all intensive purposes, has swept the nation.
And while I will cast my vote for this metaphorical man (btw is voting a left-side brain activity or right-side brain activity) I refuse to believe or get caught up in any metaphor. Nor will I care about or indulge myself in the Democrat Nation Convention either. My life and its conflicts are NOT metaphors. And while metaphorical men have changed the nation and the world, a metaphorical man in modern day politics never has and never will. And also, while I pride myself in being a well informed citizen of the United States of America I don’t deal or care about politics. And to let everyone in on a secret: Barack Obama is a politician. He’s not Jesus.
So all this was just a foreword to say whats really on my mind:
Fuck Politics.
Metaphorically speaking of course.
