The Politics of Sacred Rhetoric
Description
Revealing what lies behind much contemporary political rhetoric, Morgan Marietta shows that the language of America's most prominent leaders often relies on deep, even sacred, ideals. Comprehensively and in great detail surveying the rhetorical inventions employed in influential social movements and into the highest levels of government, The Politics of Sacred Rhetoric systematically analyzes the use of absolutist claims--and appeals to what a speaker deems to be universal truths--as essential elements of persuasion in the American political landscape. In exploring the sometimes subtle ways in which politicians employ this "sacred rhetoric," Marietta engagingly demonstrates its impact on citizens' reasoning, public discourse, and the very nature of American democracy.
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Content
List of Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I: The Psychology of Sacred Rhetoric
1 Sacred Rhetoric in American Politics
2 Values and Value Conflict, Sacred Values and Sacred Rhetoric
3 The Reasoning Effect: Sacred Rhetoric and Deliberation
4 The Activation Effect: Sacred Rhetoric and Participation
PART II: Political Consequences of Sacred Rhetoric
5 "From My Cold, Dead Hands": Sacred Rhetoric and Social Movements
6 The Absolutist Advantage: Sacred Rhetoric in the Bush Era
7 Sacred Rhetoric from Carter to Clinton: The 1976-1996 Presidential Debates
8 Sacred Rhetoric, the 2008 Campaigns, and the Democratic Party
Conclusion: "A Cure for Thought and the Diseases It Breeds"
Methodological Appendix: Subjects, an Experimental Approach
Notes
References
Index
