We are still coming to terms with the legacy of Randolph Bourne. Although he died at the age of 32 just as the United States was cheerfully entering the First World War under the banner of "democracy," the words he penned in an unfinished essay still resonate in the American social conscience: "War is the Health of the State." This maxim, once…

Discusses John Stuart Mill's nineteenth century treatise and reveals that it embodies the tenets of a sophisticated theory of argument. Makes clear the implications of that theory for contemporary rhetoric. (JMF)

Examines the role of parliamentary debate in the demise of the friendship between Fox and Burke over the issue of the French Revolution and English domestic reform. Investigates the drawing out of Fox's position and the polarization of opinion in Commons by Burke's rhetorical destruction of traditional Whig principles. (JMF)

Reviews court cases and current issues involving nonverbal communication and the First Amendment. Concludes that many modes of nonverbal expression have won a firm place under the umbrella of protection of the First Amendment but that some modes (flag and draft card burnings, economic boycotts, and coercive persuasion) still raise troublesome…

Examines the interpretation and application of the Supreme Court's decision in "Brandenburg vs. Ohio" which prohibits states from limiting political speech unless it is directed at inciting imminent lawless action. Presents four patterns in interpretation characterized by immediacy, speaker's intention, advocacy of nonviolent victimless…

Reexamines the American National Conference of Catholic Bishops' 1983 Pastoral Letter on War and Peace. Finds that the pastoral letter functioned rhetorically not to foster but to manage dissent, diffusing a radical Catholic challenge to American defense policy and reclaiming the bishops' authority to define Church teachings on war and peace. (SR)