ABSTRACT
Two years ago, the theme for the Rhetoric Society of America’s biennial conference was “Rhetorical Democracy.” The conferees discussed its prospects against the backdrop of September 11, 2001, and the rhetorical construction of national understanding of that event and its aftermath. We are still on the same question-shocked by the devastation of 9/11, fearful for our safety, concerned about the consequences it has had on U.S. domestic and foreign policy, divided about the language used to discuss it, wary of the extreme rhetoric it has launched and rhetorical repression it has ushered in, and disturbed by the extent to which basic civil rights of citizens and human rights of foreign nationals are now being legally abrogated.
