Wise Use Rhetoric Analyzed by an Interpretive System.
This essay is aimed to analyze the Wise Use social movement using the Interpretive Systems Perspective. The Interpretive Systems Perspective is a blueprint for understanding social movements. This system helps to ask the questions about the movement itself, giving onlookers much clearer understanding of exactly "what is going on here." The Interpretive Systems Perspective is broken down into five parts. These parts are actually simplified in that they each ask one very simple question. The first question is "Which individuals?" Next comes the "What people" question. After that we will go into the question of "In what environment?" The fourth question posed in this analytical system is "Use what relational patterns?" and finally the question of "What adaptive strategies?" comes into play.
Which Individuals?.
The textbook explains that "Which individuals" should answer the questions about the leadership of the organization. First off, who are the leaders and what are their backgrounds? Who are the followers and where do they come from. Aside from where they come from, what other experiences lead these people to the point they are at right now.
The Wise Use movement was organized through the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise. Founded by a man named Alan Gottlieb and run by Ron Arnold, the Wise Use movement uses the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise to spread its rhetoric. Ron Arnold spreads his messages to people via the Internet and public speeches that play on the emotions and well being of average hard working Americans. The Wise Use movement has many followers who, because of their high status, could also be considered other leaders. Unfortunately, these followers are motivated financially, as are most of the high profile Wise Use followers. This fact is why I consider them to just be puppets, not the true leaders of Wise Use.
