What is the Overton Window?

 The Overton Window is not something known by many, but it has a significant affect on our life. The Overton Window is most easily described as the area of what is socially acceptable. It is the window can be used for any broad topic, and within the window is what is acceptable to mention at that time. This window can change over time, whether it would broaden out, shrink up or just move. The window is a chart that is shown in a vertical order, with the more free ideas being at the top and the more government restricting ideas being at the bottom.

The window applies to life in plenty of different ways, in your normal day, the impact it has is to what you think is okay to say and how other will react to what you say. Since the Overton Window is based on what is socially acceptable, you won't see people talk about things outside of that window, and if you do they will normally get pretty weird looks. The window shows what people think is okay to think about on a topic at a certain time and the change in the window is normally pretty gradual and people will adjust to it without thinking. The window itself isn't the thing that affect what is acceptable, rather it represents what has already happened. It is nothing to base yourself off, it reflects society.

In the image above you see an example of an Overton Window with the idea of kids schooling, as you can see there is a list of possible opinions with the top one saying that there should be no government involvement and the one on the bottom saying that all kids should go to government regulated schools. On the website, you are able to move the blue area, which is the actual Overton Window, the things that are okay to say. This is a good way to show how the window works because it lists examples of what people could think about a topic and also how the window works and looks. 

Another place that it is seen more commonly in life is with politics. In politics, polititians will direct their thoughts and opinions towards what is in the Overton Window at the time as it is what the community wants to hear, it also has the most people who will follow their ideas. The politicians that go outside the window are the people seen as radical and are normally not as popular with people as they like outside the common ground.

The danger of the Overton Window is most prevalent in politics. As I said, politicians will direct their ideas as to what matches the Overton Window at the time, this could lead to a misleading leader who says one thing and does something else. The window could also be good as it is a way that the community as a whole has an influence on how others think and can help guide things to common grounds.