The War Metaphor Drugs, Terror, and the Dangers of Rhetoric
Date of Award
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Fitzgerald, Keith
Keywords
Drugs, Rhetoric, Residency
Area of Concentration
Political Science
Abstract
In recent decades presidential rhetoric has grown increasingly important to American political life as it has sought to take on well-established social problems. In The Rhetorical Presidency, Jeffrey Tulis attributes many policy failures to presidents' urge to perform rhetorically for the mass media at the expense of deliberation and rational analysis. Tulis wrote before the development of Reagan's 'War on Drugs.' and though he discusses President Johnson's use of the war metaphor he never develops it into an integral part of his theory. This thesis extends the idea of a 'rhetorical presidency' into the administrations of the late twentieth century and emphasizes the way in which the war metaphor, typified by the 'War on Drugs,' has come to define much of political discourse, leading to counterproductive strategies designed to fit the metaphor rather than the literal situation. The final chapter addresses the emergent 'War on Terror' and the possible future of the rhetorical presidency.
Recommended Citation
Bucci, Mikayla, "The War Metaphor Drugs, Terror, and the Dangers of Rhetoric" (2005). Theses & ETDs. 3492.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3492
Rights
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