The perfected drama of reverend Jerry Falwell

Rush to judgment: Burlesque, tragedy, and hierarchal alchemy in the rhetoric of America's foremost political talkshow host

“…In rhetorical tragedy, each moment of the drama is perfected, raised to the highest level of formal development, stretched to the farthest limits of one's imagination, or tends to be so (Appel, 1987a(Appel, , 1987b(Appel, , 1987cBurke, 1954Burke, ,1966Burke, ,1970Burke, ,1973. For instance, the act of sacrifice of the guilty other, or scapegoating, leans toward the extreme: severe punishment, banishment, or death to the enemy.…”

“…Alterative lecturers, like John Blanchard and Leo Buscaglia, seek only alteration or modification of, say, co-dependent persons in need. Redemptive speakers, like Evangelical Protestant Fundamentalists from Billy Sunday to Jerry Falwell (Appel, 1987a), call their "unsaved" listeners to spiritual rebirth, to conversion and a reversal of their whole personality.…”