“Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs”: Media Representation and Rhetorical Strategy During Arizona’s SB 1062 Controversy
In February 2014, the Governor of Arizona was given one week to decide whether or not to veto SB 1062, a controversial bill that would allow business owners to refuse service to clients whose lifestyle choices offended them. During that week, the bill was widely reported upon, and became a subject o...
محفوظ في:
| الحاوية / القاعدة: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ejas, |
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| المؤلف الرئيسي: | |
| التنسيق: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| منشور في: |
European journal of American studies
2017
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| الموضوعات: | |
| الوصول للمادة أونلاين: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| الملخص: | In February 2014, the Governor of Arizona was given one week to decide whether or not to veto SB 1062, a controversial bill that would allow business owners to refuse service to clients whose lifestyle choices offended them. During that week, the bill was widely reported upon, and became a subject of national debate. I draw on rhetorician Kenneth Burke’s theory of dramatism to analyze oppositional media discourses around SB 1062—in particular the conservative Christian strategy to frame SB 1062 as a matter of religious freedom. To do so, I consider various components of rhetorical exigency such as the role of public participation in political debate, narrative-building, and a process that Crick and Gabriel refer to as “sensual-aesthetic disruption.” I argue that it is not only a fondness for oppositional rhetorics, but the promotion of individualism and a lack of appreciation for the idea of the common good that cultivated a political climate that allowed SB 1062 to initially gain support. |
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