Mikaela Martinez Dettinger: Myths in Political Campaigns

 For my Political Science Senior Seminar research paper I explore the relationship between religious rhetoric and voter support in campaigns. I chose to explore this topic because I wanted to learn more about the effect it actually has on voters. What I found is that religious rhetoric doesn't affect all voters the same because campaigns do not account for this pesky idea of individuality in their calculations of demographics and polls. In exploring this question from the social science perspective I found a calculated semi-scientific answer to my question, but the topic of myths was in the back of my mind. I began to wonder what, if any, myths were present in politics and what truths did they show? In thinking about it more I came to see that there are more myths in political rhetoric than perhaps there are facts. On the topic of religious rhetoric specifically almost everything that is said is mythic. For this reflection I draw on C.S. Lewis' Myth Became Fact. 

In Myth Became Fact Lewis mentions that no one who calls themselves a Christian is really a true Christian. This is true in politics as well. Politicians proclaim their faith, when it suits them, on the campaign trail, but they do it in a way that presents whatever the audience wants to hear. They present a myth. They do this through the use of what is called multivocal rhetoric. This simply means that they use vague religious references and general Christian quotations that would not exclude any specific denomination and would be understood by almost anyone who is vaguely familiar with the Bible. In this way politicians are presenting a myth of themselves as candidates who can relate to nearly any Christian sect. 

So what is the truth in it? The truth in this mythic rhetoric is in the values that are represented by their speech. The rhetoric becomes a vehicle by which an understanding of common values can be shared between the candidate and the general public. These values further reveal the truth of what values  are sought after by the American public, regardless if we or the candidate uphold them. After bringing this up at a lively Thanksgiving dinner I have realized that studying the philosophy of myths and relating it to political science issues can go two ways: it can bolster one's belief that all politicians are liars, or it can open your mind to the idea that politicians might be communicating some truths. It depends on which Uncle you ask.