The Power Behind Deep Metaphors in Context with Healthcare Politics

WHAT ARE DEEP METAPHORS?

Deep metaphors are a certain kind of viewing lens that creates a very powerful way for us to see the world. This viewing lens is rather subliminal because most thinking we do and emotion we feel is completely subconscious.

Image derived from Pixabay

Much of this process is driven not by words, but rather pictures. We realize that these metaphors reach the subconscious because our emotions are a critical factor in determining how we think and reason.

DEEP METAPHORS IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTHCARE POLITICS

There is an obvious difference in the way Democrats and Republicans think and come to conclusions on certain decisions or actions. These drastic differences relate back to this idea of deep metaphors I previously mentioned.

Democrats view poor levels of health as emerging from an interrelated system pertaining to the social determinants of health (social, cultural, biological and economic factors included). Changing any one of these factors (ie. better access & availability to health care services) is not going to solve the health disparity issue.

A holistic approach where implementation and collaboration among many sectors would be ideal from a Democrat’s P.O.V. of improving the health of the most vulnerable populations in our world. Democrat’s also view American society as a complex system founded on basic universal rights, one of which is (or SHOULD be) healthcare as a right as opposed to a privilege.

Image derived from Pixabay

Republicans, on the other hand, see health as an individual & societal journey. They seem to think that people are traveling on a journey to reach the health level that they ultimately desire in life. Thus, poor health must arise as a result of making poor (health) decisions, leading to more challenging obstacles along the way that they must overcome on their journey.

Society, as a whole, is on a larger health journey through time and space. Both the individual and societal approaches, or (journeys) to reaching optimal health are unpredictable in nature. This is where adaptability becomes key to achieving the level of health that everyone deserves, but there seems to be much struggle in dealing with this particular factor, especially here in the United States.

This difference in the ‘way’ Democrats and Republicans think is why their views on balance and equality differ so drastically. Democrats on one side (of the argument) believe that society is responsible for inequities and to fix this there needs to be more focus on health from a population-based perspective.

Republicans, on the contrary, believe that both society and individual choices are responsible for health disparities, thus social aid must be balanced against individual responsibility. Deep metaphors seem to play a significant role in how we view the functionality of our world. Opposing subconscious thoughts and emotions is what ultimately creates these levels of opposition in regards to our ‘viewing lens.’

These disparities ultimately lead to the reflection we see in regard to the deep metaphorical social imbalances which impact the way our (health) system is operated.

There is obviously some power behind our subconscious-deep metaphors
About 95% of human thinking and emotion occurs in the subconscious mind– afterward decisions and attitudes are rationalized but are they ever the true motivation as to why we do the things we are thinking?