Discusses the use of mythical images to create a transcendent vision of order and analyzes the efforts of a leading Irish speaker as he argued against legislative union with Great Britain in 1800. (VLC)

Ronald Reagan's rhetorical presidency can be summarized as a leader attempting, at virtually every occasion, to stem the dissolution of the American spirit by celebrating the country's mythic past. Such attempts were Reagan's celebration of nationalism through a particular discussion of the interrelationships between liberty, freedom, democracy,…

Examines the symbolic content of eulogies delivered by Southern clergymen following the 1870 death of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Explores the clergy's discussions of Lee's immortality and the redemptive power of audience unity which were foundations for later mythic discourse on the general's life. (SG)

Examines the increasingly Orwellian inaugural addresses of the last two decades and how these speeches make use of the mythical principle of "unification," leading to a sacralization of American society and its placement into a cosmic order. Offers these mythic elements as an example of the pervasiveness of Oldspeak and mythic rhetoric…