The words banned by the Trump regime offer a “glossary for resistance and rebuilding the world they are destroying”. They expose how “MAGA loves simplicity and hates complexity: the government is reduced to the dictats of one man, America is reduced to a single cultural identity, the role of women is reduced to a single purpose (reproduction), and the economic system is reduced to a single function (production).” Small suggests that the “antidote to this hellscape” is “the defence of language, minority language, and gorging ourselves on the complexity and nuance of life and the natural world… If the MAGA phenomenon is a belief system it is untouchable by rational discourse. But you can create and conjure an alternate from their blueprint. We do not need to be the victim” (a banned word).

“Showing aid works for the poorest, by providing life’s basics, can shift support. The big question is whether and how we can tell a story in a way that centres our shared humanity and equal dignity…we aren’t trying to change values - we are trying to align our cause with people’s existing values…What if we frame our work as a chance to fight for what our neighbours already love about people and planet?”

On the ‘spiral of silence’ in our media, and how outrage “masks the reality of collusion, creating the illusion of democracy, the illusion of fair markets, the illusion of an independent press.” “We must not cry the alarm at instances of injustice but cry the alarm at pervasive systemic injustice. Atomising each case as if it is anomalous only protects those in power, bolstering the illusion that something is wrong rather than, frankly, everything being wrong.”

“Some people would say, yes but all of it is not so dark, we still have a chance. Yes, we do, but we need to change the belief system, reform the religion at its core. We cannot, as we have done so far, try to manage consequences of the beliefs that have in themselves not changed. So, in honour to that, here is a reformation proposal.”

“Moving beyond divisive debates about diagnosis involves acknowledging the extent to which diagnosis is shaped by systems of power. Diagnosis isn’t an adjective (something we are) or a noun (something we have), it is a verb – an active process that is always moving, always serving an end. It can be wielded by the state in ways that are extremely harmful, but we can also break it apart and use it in ways that are liberating for us.”

A discussion about “relational dynamics, metaphor theory, knowledge creation, governance, meaning and obfuscation” along with “other forms of signification and communication being explored in the systems community, and how we can participate with language to deframe the world as we see it and reveal its true complexities.”

Re-upping this research from last year as the guidance is very relevant to this government’s latest energy strategy announcements re: oil and gas licenses etc. Crucially the research shows that it is unhelpful to even engage with the idea of ‘trade-offs’, even if we intend to debunk and discredit. Evidence suggests we’ll be more effective if we root our messages in shared values, which this guide offers an example of.

“Without well funded healthcare, water, energy, care, education, transport, our economy can't function. This guide will help you advocate for the services we all rely on. We will be co-hosting a session about how to best campaign for public services in a moment of interlocking crises.” (Thanks for sharing Funmibi Ogunlesi)

“How can we speak clearly and powerfully about racism? What language moves a mainstream audience towards an anti-racist cause? Which words should we be avoiding? How do we explain structural racism? Answers to these questions and more can be found in Contains Strong Language, released in July 2023 by communications research initiative Reframing Race. The guidance draws on original, groundbreaking qualitative and quantitative (20,000+) studies to equip campaigners and advocates with effective ways of talking about race and racism. Our evidence shows that new ways of talking can lead to new ways of listening.”

Kate Raworth, the author of Doughnut Economics, suggests we need to "create the conditions that enable prosperity to come about," by which she means being able to "lead a life of dignity, community, and opportunity, while we hold the integrity of this delicately balanced living planet." We are warned that it's "too late to pin our hopes" on 'green growth', and so we must shift from a paradigm of control to one of stewardship, measuring life "on her terms" so that together we might serve life and thrive.

“For Refugee Week’s 25th anniversary we invite you to celebrate what compassion looks like in action. Together we can create a shared understanding of compassion to ensure we are extending it widely to all….Dangerous anti-migration government rhetoric continues, along with inhumane conditions for asylum seekers…We invite you to show us how arts and culture can help widen our circles of compassion”. The latest polling suggests that efforts like this are working.

A sober but warm reflection on where we are now, and what it might take to make the transition ahead “humane”: one that embraces both grief and joy, the chance for community solidarity in shared work, and the opportunity for people to prove that they are competent to run their own lives.