Open AccessA Mission for MARS: The Success of Climate Change Skeptic Rhetoric in the US
Author(s) -
Alexander Ruser
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
res rhetorica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2392-3113
DOI - 10.29107/rr2020.2.4
Subject(s) - skepticism , rhetoric , hoax , mars exploration program , commit , environmental ethics , blame , political science , philosophy , epistemology , psychology , astrobiology , social psychology , theology , computer science , medicine , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , database
Radio and television broadcasters accuse climate scientists of “promoting a global warming hoax”, recommending that they be “named and fi red, drawn and quartered” (Rush Limbaugh); commit “hara kiri” (Glenn Beck); and be “publicly flogged” (Mark Morano). Conservative media are crucial in promoting climate skepticism. Likewise, climate skepticism resonates well with white middle-class men. But why does the middle class continue to support “radical” positions? This article focuses on Anti-Intellectualism to explain why climate skeptic rhetoric resonates with “Middle American Radicals” (MARS).