{"id":55,"date":"2018-02-17T22:09:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T03:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/?p=55"},"modified":"2018-02-17T22:47:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T03:47:14","slug":"week-6-readings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/2018\/02\/17\/week-6-readings\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 6 Readings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The readings this week discussed how war rhetoric has become deeply embedded into our society. Through the use of rhetoric combined with overt and often unconscious symbols, phrases, and images, US militarism has invaded most aspects of our daily lives. The readings look specifically at Support the Troops rhetoric during the Global War on Terrorism and the material effects it has had on the ways in which we fight the war and the ways in which we support the war.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stahl\u2019s analysis of \u201cSupport the Troops\u201d explains how the phrase represents a type of war rhetoric larger than itself. Support the troops rhetoric shifted the way in which war is discussed, stifling any criticism or debate and in turn making “support the troops” synonymous with “support the war.”\u00a0<\/span>Stahl explains how the trope of deflection has created the narrative of war as a fight to save our own soldiers. This narrative is promoted through war films that are often void of the political realities and policies behind war and instead focus on the soldier themselves. The focal point of the soldier is mirrored through the Prisoner of War\/Missing in Action myth <\/a>and the motif of captivity in films like Saving Jessica Lynch<\/a>. Through these films and symbols like Yellow Ribbons the role of a civilian is also outlined, a role that includes being a supportive bystander.\u00a0<\/span>The trope of dissociation further constructs the role of citizens, distancing them from the military and painting deliberation of war as an attack on soldiers themselves. Dissociation tells the story of two clear and natural enemies: soldiers and protesters. Any discussion of why we fight is seen as anti-troop and anti-soldier, suppressing conversation about actual war policy and reasons for war.<\/span><\/p>\n

Butterworth and Moskals\u2019 article on The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl<\/a> explains the public\u2019s acceptance of a culture in which the military is at the center of society, also known as militarism. The Armed Forces Bowl, sponsored by a corporate military entity presents an intertwined narrative of football and war. The event turns war into an entertainment spectacle, giving out awards and medals and incorporating active duty military into the sport rituals of the event. A fan fest<\/a> awaits outside for spectators to have fun exploring the largest assortment of military equipment. The event claims to honor servicemen and women but in turn exploits them. It commodifies soldiers in order to promote consumption of services, the sale of products, and promote enlistment. The game encompasses a sense of empty patriotism<\/a> in which rituals and rhetoric are used to show support through identification but no real action. The game forces citizens to adhere to a certain identity, to identify as sports fans and spectators but also to identify as a citizen complicit with the culture of militarism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vicaro\u2019s article on deconstitutive rhetoric explains how three terms, \u201cfailed state\u201d, \u201cunlawful enemy combatants\u201d, and \u201cenemy killed in action\u201d worked to deconstruct a person\u2019s rights and identity outside the lines of international law. These phrases created by the Bush and Obama administrations were rhetorical loop holes in order to fight the war on terror, a war not against a nation or regime but against individuals. These phrases function outside the definitions of soldier vs. civilian. Instead they lawfully devoid any human identified as a threat of their rights in order to expose them to practices of indefinite detention, torture and execution.<\/span><\/p>\n

The readings this week emphasized my ignorance to the ways in which our society is centered around the war and the military. However it also showed me how important and impactful language is. The precision of language and the strategy behind Support the Troop rhetoric is fascinating. Our society is shaped and molded by the reiteration of these ideologies through all forms of culture such as media, entertainment, and sports. We are almost brainwashed into thinking a certain way, told to fall in line and take on a certain identity. I was unaware of the wide scale power of this militarism narrative and the ways in which the rhetoric behind it is meant to work. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The readings this week discussed how war rhetoric has become deeply embedded into our society. Through the use of rhetoric<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3844,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3844"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/rhetoric-terrorism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}