Regressive lobotomy and progressive neuroplasticity

I’m reading The Lost Goddess by Tom Knox. Therein his characters investigate the ancient practice of trepanation, drilling holes in the head to treat symptoms. In the book the plot revolves around a cult that did so to partially lobotomize people to make them more violently animalistic in order to create a ferocious soldier devoid of human restraint. And it occurred to me that this is exactly what conservative framing does sans the actual removal of brain tissue; it devolves people into its baser instincts of fear and hatred, which by-pass our more rational restraints and higher angels like compassion and care. We know that when faced with fight-or-flight life and death situations we revert to the  core brain responses. And the very purpose of conservative framing it to instill such heightened fear that we literally regress to pre-rational activation systems devoid of reason. They do this intentionally for the purpose of maintaining their power over the masses, for they are much more easily fooled and led in such primitive states of consciousness. Hence the war on education and science, which weakens their manipulative frames.

On the other hand education and science are not enough in themselves.  The liberals have previously lost the framing wars because while recognizing higher reason is required to curb our baser instincts they tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater. That is, any emotion is seen as counterproductive to our higher angels when according to Lakoff and company real reason understands and includes aspects of its forbears. Hence progressive framing needs to activate positive emotions like compassion and care for all instead of just using dry, overly abstract framing that is divorced from what feels right morally. By so doing and including real reason to enact the feelings moves us forward in evolution. This kind of framing benefits all of society, not just the rich and powerful that lie and manipulate the masses through fear and hate for their own benefit. The last election showed that the liberals were finally getting the message to better frame the message to match their policies.

Hence in the aftermath of that election the conservatives thought their messaging was the problem, it was just their framing. No, their negative and fear-based framing was the same as it’s always been. But it was less effective due to not only the better progressive counter-framing but because the latter was tied to real policy that actually helped most people instead of the few. And people so educated by the better progressive frames evolved a few steps and outright rejected not just negative framing but understood the real policies underlying the manipulative lies behind the regressive frames. Education and science are indeed required, but they too need to be framed properly so that they can achieve their effects.

But the regressives, so programmed by their own lying frames, still don’t get that it’s their policies that are the problem, not their messaging. And this is a good thing, for they’ll keep lying and manipulating the masses but the masses are now too smart and caring that counters the fears and hatred regressive framing peddles. Or at least the majority have moved forward, enough to win elections and change policy. And that is the point. Regressive lobotomies are being healed, new brain tissue is growing back via neuroplasticity induced by positive progressive framing. This really is a battle of smaller versus bigger brains, but brains that include hearts.

PS: Remember The Shock Doctrine?