The rhetoric of exorcism: George W. Bush and the return of political demonology

Abstract

EVER SINCE THE commercial airline missiles destroyed New York City's World Trade Center on 9/11/01, images of violence and catastrophe have seared collective mind. A popular image shot by freelance photographer Mark Phillips seemed to capture face of a in a large plume of emanating from one of twin towers (see fig. 1). Soon after Associated Press secured one-time printing rights to so-called smoke demon image, it became available to Internet users who quickly disseminated it with foreboding commentary about Christian apocalypse. For many evangelical Protestants in particular, provided evidence that current seat of Satan's resides in American financial institutions, and that demise of World Trade Center is a sign from God (or Devil) that end-time is near (Mikkelson & Mikkelson). The goal of this essay is to show how speech writers used a similar, demonic anthropomorphism to craft a righteous presidential rhetoric that helped overcome widespread experience of anomie and speechlessness caused by violence of 9/11. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] To this end essay proceeds in four parts. Part one provides a context for study by describing recent increase of demonic rhetoric in popular culture. Part two locates demonic in relation to religious genres of exorcism and conversion, two iterations of larger cultural form of religious transformation. In part three, I examine parallels between exorcism and political purging of figurative bodies, specifically those that appear in speeches of George W. Bush in aftermath of 9/11. Finally, essay concludes with a discussion of implications of such a reading for rhetorical theory and practice, focusing particularly on continued relevance of genre to study of political discourse. Demons and Possession in Popular Culture The Demonic Default Similar to childhood game of seeing animals in clouds or finding the face of Mother Theresa in a cinnamon bun, attribution of form, particularly a human-like form, to an otherwise vague and diffuse stimulus is an perceptual illusion termed pareidolia (Carroll 2002). According to anthropologist Stewart Guthrie, pareidolic anthropomorphisms, such as demon, frequently concern religious figures, for attribution of form to ineffable in general is psychological basis of religion (also see Cassirer). (1) Guthrie also claims that religious anthropomorphisms tend to attribute a given deity or supernatural figure with power of speech (198). Gods and demons speak, and they often have power to mute speech. From an evangelical perspective, for example, one could claim that Satan's destructive power on 9/11 momentarily robbed U.S. citizenry of its voice, its power to name, and thereby its ability to comprehend and cope; with destruction and death, Satan silences. The ineffability of 9/11 has created numerous rhetorical acts designed to restore voice and security of polity, including a litany of rituals, speeches, and performances mourning loss of dead, commemorating rescue efforts, and celebrating communal bonds. Speakers who sought to assuage audiences by amplifying virtues of American people repeatedly used words courage, honor, freedom, trust, and faith. In other words, Western terminological repertoire for expressing goodness, secular and divine, is large. Those who sought to characterize terrorists or their deeds, however, were limited in their expression. They described terrorists' intent and motives as evil, reducing human action to inhuman motion and thereby dehumanizing racial/religious Other as monsters controlled by a malevolent force. The rhetorical invention of evil is difficult because Westerners have a limited repertoire of language for characterizing it. Historically, of course, demonic personifications of religious discourse have provided bulk of Western representations of evil (see Russell The Devil; Delbanco). …