Albany Library: Debate Watch with George Lakoff

October 16 was not an ordinary night in Albany. Nearly 300 gathered at Albany Community Center and Library to hear the thoughts of the Republican and Democratic candidates for President. Most were drawn by the promise of stimulating discussion after the debate, moderated by Dr. George Lakoff.

The audience quickly filled every available seat, with spillover into the Library's meeting room. From 6 to 7:30, they cheered and groaned as the candidates spoke their minds. After the televised portion, Dr. Lakoff, Professor of Cognitive Linguistics at U. C. Berkeley, took questions and reflected on the drama we had just seen. His analysis–both simple and complex–was more stimulating than the wrap-ups on TV!

Dr. Lakoff showed how our own political speech and notions of justice and fairness spring from our frames of reference. He challenged us to discover our own moral imperatives and push our representatives to do the same. He exposed the folly of enlightenment rationality that supposes the “best argument” wins the debate. As he points out in his latest work, The Little Blue Book, people rarely look to logic for persuasion. Rather, it is the “look of understanding and the tone of empathy” that wins.

The Debate Watch on Tuesday was a hit for the whole community. The City of Albany, Alameda County Library, The Friends of the Albany Library deserve a huge round of applause for providing space, tech-savvy, staffing and funds to create this Town Hall Meeting. Catherine Taylor, who arranges the Second Tuesdays Poetry Series, was central to the evening’s success. Her interest in the way ordinary people speak of politics prompted her to suggest Dr. Lakoff as a guest speaker. We were pleased to have Pegasus Books on site to sell “The Little Blue Book,” and, of course, Dr. Lakoff, his wife and guests.

It was great to have Chris Pech from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters on hand to answer questions about voter registration and the upcoming election. We were honored to have Amelia Lopez from Assembly member Nancy Skinner’s office, who told Albany Library Manager, Ronnie Davis “she was ‘blown away’ by the community response and the role that libraries play in creating this kind of community forum.” A super thanks goes to Nancy Rubin for the great photographs showing democracy in action!

Albany Library was an ideal venue for watching the debate; as it is our mission to promote life-long learning and civic engagement.

Remember to vote on or by November 6.