Baseball and Rhetorics of Purity: The National Pastime and American Identity During the War on Terror (review)

In Baseball and Rhetorics of Purity, Michael L. Butterworth has produced a significant work of rhetorical scholarship that also takes its baseball seriously. As such, it merits attention both by traditional rhetoric scholars and by those who affiliate with the growing subfield of communication and sport. Utilizing fragments of public address from George W. Bush's "war on terror" and rituals enacted in baseball post 9/11, Butterworth fashions an insightful critique that bridges the policies of post-9/11 America and the cultural institution of baseball, showing how they functioned in a mutually reinforcing fashion during the war on terror. Some public address scholars may find the work focused too much on baseball and question links between baseball and terror policy, while some sports communication scholars may be tempted to bypass the eclectic theoretical queries in favor of the analysis of the symbolic significance of the game. Nonetheless, scholars in both areas will gain greater appreciation for rhetoric in politics and sport, and the interplay between the two.

The introduction is an initiation into the historic construction of baseball as central to American culture and identity, offering pointed criticisms of American political culture post 9/11 and the complicity of baseball in advancing the Bush agenda. At its root, Butterworth's book is a work of critical rhetorical advocacy, "an investigation into the culture and mythology of baseball . . . and an invitation to remake the game in a more democratic vision" (28). Thus it is Butterworth's hope that by recognizing that the rituals of baseball too often depend on rhetorics of purity that exalt American superiority, we might "reimagine America's national game, envisioning baseball as a site for celebrating the best of who we are and who we can be" (24), while simultaneously rethinking our political presentation to the world. The outline of the argument is sophisticated, bringing together baseball and the war on terror via theoretical entry points including metaphor, constitutive rhetoric, tragic and comic frames, myth, and public memory.

Weaving together the words of the president, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and examples of ballpark ceremonies, the opening chapter convincingly illustrates how post-9/11 ballpark rituals transformed from necessary occasions for mourning and healing to more contrived ideological performances that, intentionally or not, reinforced Bush administration actions and effectively positioned baseball as an extension of the state. Of particular power are the discussions of the 2002 "We Shall Not Forget" celebrations, the 2003 season opening choreography, and the cancellation of a Baseball Hall of Fame tribute to Bull Durham over anxieties that the film's stars would make statements of political protest.

Chapter 2 examines "Baseball as America," a traveling exhibit produced by the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Butterworth analyzes how the exhibit constructs baseball and the American Dream, critically examining what interpretations were obscured and marginalized in the public memories projected in the exhibit. His reading of the exhibit's seven themes invites introspection on the relationship of baseball and nationalism, how baseball has dealt with issues of race, ethnicity, and gender, and how the exhibit (re)shapes our understanding of economic and labor issues in the sport. Although Butterworth persuasively reads the exhibit's construction of an idealized, artificial remembrance of America, he also—somewhat less convincingly—considers the relationship of the exhibit to 9/11 and, in particular, the war on terror. Ultimately Butterworth contends that the "museum tour was a troubling exercise in nostalgia that denied America's responsibility for its transgressions and reminded visitors that the United States purports to be an indispensable defender of freedom and equality" (60). That the exhibit coincided with the war on terror prompts Butterworth to consider the two events in tandem. Although he is careful in his claims about this relationship, some readers will likely find the connection tenuous.

Chapter 3, "Purifying the Body Politic...