Stars in Your Crown

When I was young, many of the adults I knew would praise good deeds by saying that those who did them would receive “stars in their crowns.” The basic concept is that, although good deeds may not be rewarded in this life, they would be rewarded in the next. For a very long time now, most cultures have presupposed a life after death that would provide rewards or punishments depending on the way we lived our current life: the wicked will be punished, and the righteous will be rewarded.

The belief is understandable. Very few people are content with the . . . → Read More: Stars in Your Crown

Framing—Again

In a recent article in the Huffington Post, George Lakoff (author or co-author of numerous books and articles on metaphors and other aspects of language usage), said the following about framing:

Framing is much more than mere language or messaging. A frame is a conceptual structure used to think with. Frames come in hierarchies. At the top of the hierarchies are moral frames. All politics is moral. Politicians support policies because they are right, not wrong. The problem is that there is more than one conception of what is moral. Moreover, voters tend to vote their morality,  since it is what defines . . . → Read More: Framing—Again