1. SYMBOLS Chapter 6 POLICY PARADOX The Art of Political Decision Making Deborah Stone
Presented by:
Mirna P Amaya
Louis Velasco
William Walders
Jingbo Yu
Gail Young
HOW DO THESE CONCEPTS RELATE IN POLITICS?
Addressing points in the context of politics

2. What are Symbols? Symbols Anything that stands for something else.
meaning depends
Collectively created
Role
Transition here
SYMBOL-ANYTHING THAT STANDS FOR SOMETHING ELSE
MEANING OF SYMBOL-DEPENDS ON HOW PEOPLE INTERPRET IT, USE IT OR RESPOND TO IT-COLLECTIVELY CREATED.
Roles-
CAPTURES THE IMAGINATION, SHAPES OUR PERCEPTIONS & TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS SKEPTICISM
Eg. object, person, place, work, song, event, logo

3. Can anyone guess what these symbols stands for?
Elephant-Republican party
Donkey-Democratic party
Gator head-UF’s logo
Peace symbol
Donkey and Elephant as Political Symbols
The donkey gained its acceptance as the Democratic symbol in 1874 as a result of Thomas Nast's cartoons in Harper's Weekly and Ignatius Donnelly's remark in the Minnesota Legislature, "The Democratic party is like a mule--without pride of ancestry or hope of posterity." The elephant became known as a Republican symbol also because of a cartoon designed by Nast and published in Harper's Weekly (November 7, 1874.) See full explanation in Safire's New Political Dictionary, pp.192 and 212. (R Sa1)
Source: Safire, William. Safire's New Political Dictionary : The Definitive Guide to the New Language of Politics. Random House, New York, 1993.
Verified by: GM, 5/98

4. Please transition this according to the key below…. 1 Christians etc
Please transition this according to the key below….1 Christians etc. Collectively created SORRY GAIL CAN’T TRANSITION THIS ONE BECAUSE I MADE IT AS ONE WHOLE IMAGE
Christians signify hope etc…
Hunger target and aim
Cross-many of you may not have known what is so I am going to do something that politicians do a lot, convince you that it is located in a grave yard and signifies death…HEHEHE THIS IS FUNNY
Darfur (Africa) hope relief outside aid

5. Why are symbols important in Politics?
Essence of problem definition
Helps people in politics:
Create a problem or craft a problem in a way that their package that they are selling NECESSARY

6. 1 Narrative Stories 2 Synecdoches 3 Metaphors 4 Ambiguity
In what ways are Symbolic Devices helpful in defining problems in Politics?
Following are Key in policy problem definition:
1 Narrative Stories
2 Synecdoches
3 Metaphors
4 Ambiguity
Please put transition for each of these 1 at a time
1 Narrative Stories-explanations of how the world works
Often unspoken.
Widely shared.
Hold a powerful grip on our psyche.
Offer promise of resolution for scary problems.
2 Synecdoches- figures of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole
3 Metaphors-seeing a likeness between two things
4 Ambiguity-capacity to have multiple meanings (feature of the human condition)
Chapter focused on role of ambiguity in enabling coalition and compromise

7. How Many Devices are there in Problem Definition?1 2 3 4
Please highlight 4 when I click next slide
Correct Answer 4

8. 1-Narratives Stories
Which of the following represent features of Narrative stories?
Often unspoken.
Widely shared.
Hold a powerful grip on our psyche.
Offer promise of resolution for scary problems.
All of the Above.
None of the Above.
Please highlight 5 before I click next slide
These highlight ways that stories can be used to steer audience in direction that they want them to be in
Literary rhetoric to steer audience to course of action

9. 1 Stories 2 Broad Story lines Story of Decline.
Story of stymied progress.
Story of progress-is-only-an-illusion.
Story of Helplessness and control.
Conspiracy story.
Blame the victim story.
The two stories are often woven together.

10. 1 Stories Story of Decline
Story of stymied progress.
Story of progress-is-only-an-illusion.
Story of decline-ends with crisis, doom begins reciting facts eg. rise in poverty rates etc (assumption things were once better now they are worse and will cause sufferring.
It runs like this:
“In the beginning, things were terrible, then things got better, thanks so someone, but now somebody is interfering with our hero, so things are going to get terrible again.”
Example:
“Biotechnology had brought us miracle medicine, but Clinton’s planned regulation and price controls threatened the very survival of the recent industry” (Biotech firms fought Clinton’s medical cost-containment plans) .

11. 1 Stories Story of Helplessness and control
Conspiracy story.
Blame the victim story.
The two stories are often woven together.
Story of decline-ends with crisis, doom begins reciting facts eg. rise in poverty rates etc (assumption things were once better now they are worse and will cause sufferring.
It runs like this:
“In the beginning, things were terrible, then things got better, thanks so someone, but now somebody is interfering with our hero, so things are going to get terrible again.”
Example:
“Biotechnology had brought us miracle medicine, but Clinton’s planned regulation and price controls threatened the very survival of the recent industry” (Biotech firms fought Clinton’s medical cost-containment plans) .

12. Why Are stories important in Politics?
Gail
Reason 1: Hold powerful grip on mind because they promise resolution for scary problems
EXAMPLE NEEDED
Reason 2: Definitions of policy problems have a narrative structure—beginning, middle and end involving change or transformation
Reason 3: Easy to be thwarted by surface details of the story because story line in policy writing is often hidden or what appears as conflict over details is really a disagreement about the fundamental story.

13. 2 Synecdoche (si-nek-duh-kee)
A synecdoche is a figure of speech that presents a kind of metaphor in which:
A part of something is used for the whole .
The whole is used for a part.
The special for the general or
The general for the special.
AKA Prototype and typical cases.
Part to whole:
Another “mouth to feed”, additional family member/person.
I got a “new set of wheels”, new car.
Whole for the part:
The “military” are a bunch of warmongers.
Florida is experiencing a healthcare crisis. Florida can signify parts of the government or the people.
Special for general:
Democrats to represent congress
General for special:
Congress to only include democrats
*Dictionary.com

14. Did anyone read the book Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck in 1976
Did anyone read the book Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck in 1976? Neither did I but thankfully, Bill in our group did and he was able to teach me about how synechdokes are used.
Historically in 1800’s book talks about how people were migrating to California because they had free land…but the reality is that represents some of the story because not everyone moved to California because of the free land.
Now California is moving toward Universal health care and the picture implies that everyone is packing up and moving there so this picture represents the sequal to grapes of wrath because these cars represent everyone moving to california based on the book.

15. Why are Synecdoche Important in Politics?
Important symbolic devices in political life because we often make polices based on examples believed to be representative of a larger universe.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Source: New York Times, Feb. 7, 2005, based on Budget of the United States FY2007.

16. 2 Synecdoche & Policy Why is it a powerful political strategy?
Mislead the masses.
Horror story & worse case mentality.
Organizing tool .
Mobilizes anger.
Reduces scope of an issue (more manageable).
suddenly becomes prototype and not the entire issue.
Reducing the scope on 1 hand makes the issue more manageable but on the other hand it may skew policy.
*Horror story-Politicians deliberately choose outlandish incidents to represent the universe of cases, that use an example to build support for changing an entire rule or polic that is addressed to the entire universe.

17. 3 Metaphors Type of implied comparison.
Using a word that denotes a certain thing to describe another.
Every policy metaphor contains assumption that if a is like b, then you would solve both a and b the same way.
Once sensitized, can be found everywhere.
LOUIS

18. 3 Metaphor: Types Social institutions as “living organisms”
Natural laws as “unintended rewards”
“Machines and mechanical devices”
“Wedges and incline”
“Containers”
War
“Disease””
LOUIS
Social institutions as “living organisms” –Used by people to leave things as they are and resist change
Natural laws as “unintended rewards” – Helping anyone with a certain problem rewards them for it and creates incentive to stay like that
“Machines and mechanical devices” – Usually implies decline from balance to imbalance and suggests addition or subtraction of something
“Wedges and incline” – Contain a warning of future declines trying to prevent move in unwanted direction; slippery slope, ladder
“Containers” – Fixed space idea; May be overfilled, underfilled, contain leaks
War” – Symbol used to gain support for one’s policies; invader considered foreign
“Disease” – Story about decline and struggle between humans and germs they encounter

19. 3 Metaphor: Why do Language and Symbols Matter?
Names and labels.
Strategic problem definition.
Symbolic devices.
Metaphors so often go unnoticed because they are a part of our cultural way.
LOUIS
Names and labels - Used to create associations and attract support for certain course of action
Strategic problem definition - Attempt to portray problem’s solution as being in best interest of public; political maneuvering
Symbolic devices – Very persuasive and emotionally capturing
Metaphors so often go unnoticed because they are a part of our cultural way

20. Examples of Metaphors
''If this keeps up, eventually these hospitals will not be state of the art.'‘ (New York Times, Jeff Holtz, Jan. 7, 2007)
“This year will be "make or break" for the NHS, according to a report out today.” (Northern Echo, Nick Bosanquet, Jan. 2, 2007)
“Shift in Congress Puts Health Care Back on the Table; Expecting a Mixed Reaction Across the Aisle, Democrats Plan to Offer Ideas on Drug Cost, Safety” (The Washington Post, Christopher Lee, Dec. 25, 2006)
1st example: Mr. Frayne said that the state's annual rate of reimbursement had failed to keep up with inflation and the hospitals' rising costs.
The Medicaid system had left the hospitals about $250 million short each year, he said, and because of that deficit, the hospitals are not investing in new equipment, updating technology or making other capital improvements.
2nd example: THIS year will be "make or break" for the NHS, according to a report out today.Rising costs have not been addressed and there has been a failure to invest in modern services, which leaves the service weaker in the longterm than it was two years ago, it said.One solution would be to write off NHS debts and reform the way patient services are managed, according to the study, NHS Reform: the Empire Strikes Back.The authors, led by Nick Bosanquet, professor of health policy at Imperial College London, believe the service could be salvaged through a three-year programme.This would include writing off debts and introducing "rigorous financial discipline" so that all organisations are in surplus or balance.The NHS finished last year more than 500m in debt.Professor Bosanquet said:"The essential requirement now is a realistic mediumterm strategy."The Department of Health has been so busy firefighting that it has not developed a process for getting...
3rd example: Key lawmakers and their aides in both parties say other health- policy initiatives likely to surface include renewing funding for the state-federal health-insurance program for children of the working poor, expanding access to health insurance generally, and beefing up drug-safety efforts at the Food and Drug Administration. Also in the works are efforts to promote electronic medical records, ease restrictions on the importation of low-cost prescription drugs from Canada, devise a better way of paying doctors under Medicare and improve the subsidized drug coverage for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.

21. Why are Metaphors important?
Reason1: Essential core of human thought and creativity
Reason2: Seeing a likeness between 2 things is essential to classification and counting
Reason 3: To make a metaphor is also to make a political claim “There is a likeness that is important”

22. 4 Ambiguity
“The most important feature of all symbols, both in art and in politics.”
You could mention here that on the left is Salvador Dali’s painting where you can see a bust of Voltaire in the background or two people walking.
And on the right is the Mona Lisa that many believe has an ambiguous expression.
You can give the definition of ambiguity here “a symbol can mean two or more things simultaneously”

23. 4 Ambiguity Define “Glue” of politics. Agreements Possible
Ability of statements, events and experiences to have >1meaning.
“Glue” of politics.
Agreements Possible
Allows people to agree on laws and policies because they can read various meanings into words.
Gail
Define
Ability of statements, events and experiences to have >1meaning
“Glue” of politics
Agreements Possible
Allows people to agree on laws and policies because they can read various meanings into words.

24. 4 Ambiguity : Context
The context in which you find a symbol can determine its meaning.
Here you can mention how depending on where you are or who you are “Gators” can have a different meaning for you.

25. 4 Ambiguity Politics: Science or art?
(if you show this diagram to different scientists around the world they would all conclude its an atom.)
Considering that science is exact and must be understood the same way in different contexts, we can say that politics is more like art because it needs ambiguity.
You can add, that the scientific names sometimes do not vary or vary slightly across the globe.
“a type of policy analysis that does not make room for the centrality of ambiguity in politics can be of little use in the real world” you could rephrase that and say it in the presentation. At the same time explaining why it has to be that way

26. 4 Ambiguity Why is it essential in politics?
Multiple interpretations possible.
Makes it possible to reach a compromises.
Leaders can gain support from different types of people.
Allows everyone to interpret things as they want, enabling the person in favour of the policy to gain collective support easier.
If politics were not ambiguous, it would be harder or impossible in certain cases to reach a compromise.
Leaders can gain support from different types of people.

27. 4 Ambiguity Why is it essential in politics?
People that have different policies in mind can be grouped in one.
Brings people, who support policies for different reasons, together.
(environmentalists and salesman).
People that have different policies in mind can be grouped in one.
It can bring people together that may have different reasons to support one same policy.
You can mention that a hypothetical policy that supports the increased use of bikes would gain support from environmentalist sectors and people that sell bikes.

28. 4 Ambiguity Why is it essential in politics?
May avoid conflict by passing an ambiguous statute and letting others deal with the controversial aspects.
May solve conflict between two parties by “giving rhetoric to one side and the decision to the other.”
May help when individuals are indecisive about supporting a leader.
When individuals hold contradictory views, eg. on welfare, politicians can focus on the ambiguous symbol and not on the actual practice.
“American politics has been roundly criticized as a vehicle for moving political decisions into arenas where strong special interests dominate. But it is also a feature of politics that allows highly conflictual issues to move from stalemate to action, for whatever that is worth. –for the first bullet-

29. 4 Ambiguity Why is it essential in politics?
By the way, I could not think of smarter headings so if you want to change them feel free to. 
Think about the following:
Who would You give welfare to?

30. Have a Great Gator Day!
Are there any questions?