Are (Polish) Politicians Out of this World? 73contact with the ground, which enable control of one’s environment are also
disabled. One of the key concepts in psychotherapy is that of grounding
which sees “the upright posture and the leg-foot-ground relationship as a
basis for active involvement with the world” (Totton 2003: 68). Codified
in the patterns of language, embodied cognition gives rise to failure as
“losing ground” and attributing success to “down-to-earth” approaches and
people.
Cosmic metaphors featuring political figures, via a combination of two
modalities (PATH and MANNER), convey evaluative judgements on the
senselessness of their mission in addition to emphasising the
(actual/social/ideological/emotional) distance between the character in
question and the observer, who represents the public and its viewpoint.
The distance covered in the metaphorical journey through space does not
indicate progress as the PATH does not seem to lead to any (socially
desirable) destination, and the character is subjected to forces beyond their
control. Research on social cognition endorses the Conceptual Metaphor
Theory in that “emotional cognition is metaphorically tied to sheer
physical distance” (Winkielman and Kavanagh 2013: 223). If the lack of
connectedness is proportional to the actual or imaginary physical distance,
the vastness of the cosmos enables, to some extent, a ‘hyperbolic’ effect.^8
Deliberate metaphors of outer space make a compelling and lucid use of
the imagery grounded in bodily experience we all share. However, despite
other distinctive characteristics of cosmos, such as coldness and darkness,
conceptual links between emotions and temperature, on the one hand, and
between darkness and ignorance, on the other, do not seem to be activated.
These dimensions, physically inaccessible to the majority of us, may have
little or no impact on the way we conceive space; seen from the
perspective of the inhabitants of planet Earth, space does not seem as
unfriendly as science claims. The unpleasant experience of losing one’s
balance or contact with the ground is, however, familiar to everybody and
viewed as the opposite of control.
The perception of political detachment finds expression in space
metaphors which – through image-schematic structuring of experience (in
text and/or image) – effortlessly and expressly highlight the political,
social and emotional distance observed on a daily basis in the realm of
politics. Its agents do not fulfil the expectations of the public as
representatives of democratic governance and defenders of social justice.
On the contrary, images of individuals “drifting purposelessly”, deprived
(^8) A continuum view of hyperbole and metaphor has been discussed by Dan
Sperber and Deirdre Wilson (2008).