📢 In Our Community, Every Conversation Fuels Progress!
Featured Author Antonia Scatton Reveals Powerful Strategies to Combat Misinformation
Engaging in conversations with family, friends, and neighbors about our rights, freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law is not just important, it's urgent.
These aren't abstract ideas—they shape our daily lives, from voting rights and equality to the fundamental freedoms we rely on. Discussing these issues can raise awareness, share concerns, and find common ground to defend the democratic principles that affect us all. These conversations help cut through misinformation and political divisions, empowering each of us to play a role in protecting the values that bind us together.
Talking about these issues with those closest to us is not just about building trust, it's about strengthening our communities. These discussions can inspire action, whether it's voting, advocating for policies that protect our rights, or simply becoming better informed about the challenges our democracy faces. By fostering dialogue, we remind each other that democracy thrives on active participation, and together, we can create a ripple effect that helps safeguard our freedoms and the rule of law for future generations.
I am pleased to share a voice with all of you in our People Power United community, to which I highly recommend you listen and subscribe.
Antonia Scatton is an expert in political communications. Her mission is to help us master the skills of strategic framing and messaging so we can regain our voice in the public debate.
She had an excellent piece on her Substack on How to Handle the Tough Questions and has graciously offered to share this with our members. What I loved about this piece and all the pieces that Antonia shares is that these messages empower both the giver and recipient in the conversation to seek out common ground, push for progress, and empower our rights, freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law.
Today’s call to action: Dive into Antonia’s piece below, reignite your passion for important conversations, and subscribe to follow her insights on Substack!
Reframing America
Voters are hit with so much disinformation that they often open a conversation from a conservative perspective. Our goal is not to prove them wrong, but to engage them in a conversation about the topic from our point of view, or at the very least, plant a seed that could lead to a change of heart later on.
We do this by making a strong empathy-based value statement: something that expresses what we Democrats believe to be right and wrong. To do that, you have to find or create an opening in the conversation where you can appropriately insert that value statement.
First, dismiss or deflect the conservative position with something like,
“Well, that doesn’t sound quite right to me,” or
“Hmm, none of the Democrats I know think that.”
Then redirect it by saying something like,
“The way I see it…” or
“All the Democrats I know believe…” or
“Kamala Harris believes that…”
Then follow with your strong values-based statement, such as,
“Everybody should be able to walk through their neighborhood and feel safe, right?”
Before you follow up with a supporting fact, wait a moment and listen. Give them some space to agree with you or ask a question about what you just said. Then you can have a real conversation into which you can add more information about where your candidate stands.
Strong Values-Based Statements
You can put these into your own voice, into language you would use naturally in conversation. What matters is that you express what’s right and wrong. You can even write these for yourself! You just have to spend some time thinking deeply about why you really care.
ECONOMIC FAIRNESS
“This is how it’s supposed to be: We work hard, they pay us enough to raise a family on. It’s time we made owners hold up their end of the deal.”
“When we talk about an economy that works for everyone, we mean keeping the economy stable and making it fair, giving everybody real security.”
“Workers create the profits, but they’re not getting to keep their fair share. That’s why we need unions. Workers should be able to negotiate as equals.”
“Corporations and the rich have benefitted the most from government resources (like infrastructure, education, the legal system, financial incentives, and scientific research,) all of which are paid for by the American people. The least they can do is pay their fair share.”
“Trickle-down Reaganomics is a bunch of B.S. Increasing the wages of working people is what drives our economy. Democrats understand that.”
INFLATION
“We need to reduce the cost of living and raise wages.”
“We’re dealing with out-of-control corporate greed. Massive corporations are using their monopoly power to collude on price hikes, extort suppliers and suppress wages.”
“The Biden-Harris administration is standing up to them and cracking down on this price gouging, but Republican appointed judges are fighting them every step of the way.”
HOUSING
“Everyone should be able to afford a home, for themselves and their family.”
“We need to increase the supply of homes, but we also have to stop market speculators from buying up all the houses and stop corporate landlords from colluding to hike rents.”
“Houses are for people to live in and build generational wealth, not for banks to gamble on. They crashed the housing market in 2008. Now they want to turn us all into renters and keep all the investment benefits for themselves.”
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
“Public funds belong in public schools, because we have an obligation to educate every child.”
“Education is how our kids learn all the options available to them in life, and get prepared to succeed in whichever path they choose.”
“Everyone should be able to get the education or training they need to live a successful and fulfilling life.”
(Re “CRT” or attacks on transgender kids.)“No child should ever be told that there’s something wrong with them because of who they are.”
“People come from everywhere, but public school is what makes us all Americans. It’s where we learn common American values like cooperation, respect, equality, and responsibility. It’s where we learn the truth about our shared history – good and bad.”
ABORTION
“Physical liberty is our first and most fundamental freedom.” (No, they probably won’t have heard the term before, but it will make them think. Follow with:)
“To be free, you have to have the right to control your own body according to your own beliefs. Women do not have that freedom without access to reproductive health care.”
“This is supposed to be a free country. We don’t use other people’s bodies against their will.”
Thank you, Antonia, for sharing your valuable insights with our People Power United members. You’ve highlighted how crucial it is to engage voters in meaningful conversations, especially when they’ve been influenced by disinformation. Instead of trying to prove them wrong, we should approach these conversations by planting seeds of empathy and sharing values-based statements that resonate deeply with what we believe to be right and wrong. By dismissing or deflecting the initial conservative position and redirecting the conversation to our perspective, we can open up space for dialogue and understanding.
Your examples of strong values-based statements around key issues like economic fairness, inflation, housing, public schools, and abortion are incredibly useful. These statements focus on the core values that drive us: fairness, security, and the fundamental right to freedom. By taking the time to express these values in our own voices and listening to those we’re speaking with, we can create opportunities for real conversations that might lead to meaningful change over time. Thank you again for equipping our readers with such practical and impactful strategies!
Click here to Subscribe and Follow Antonia Scatton on Substack.
Keep making good trouble! Everyone deserves to vote and thrive!
Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
People Power United is a group of community members that champions progressive values and power for the people. If you wish to support our efforts, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to our Substack Newsletter.
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Wonderful advise. Also remember that right after having control over our own bodies, our highest freedom is freedom from the harm of other people’s conduct. As a lawyer who enforces environmental laws, I say this to people all the time.
I feel fortunate to have Antonia nearby. She is a wealth of information and I love the way she reframes issues. But, I have to say, I am mot gonna have these conversations with the folks “back home” in Ohio, where talking politics is just not gonna happen. I passed up a family reunion of sorts next week because I can’t not talk about the biggest election of our lifetime with family.