Fallen heroes, lifted hearts: Consolation in contemporary presidential eulogia

Abstract

A. D. Kunkel and M. R. Dennis (2003) demonstrated that examining texts for identified components of eulogia, as drawn from the comforting and social support paradigms found in psychology and communication literatures (i.e., credibility establishment, praise for the deceased, self-disclosure of emotion, prescriptions for problem-focused coping, promotion of positive reappraisal for emotion-focused coping, and the affirmation and continuation of relationships), is critical to understanding eulogistic phenomena. Analysis of three Presidential eulogies, as informed by the components, reveals calls for unity in President Ronald Wilson Reagan's 1986 eulogy for the Challenger space shuttle crew, suggestions for action in President William Jefferson Clinton's 1995 eulogy for USS Cole sailors, and positive reappraisal within astronauts’ quotes offered by President George Walker Bush during his 2003 eulogy for the Columbia space shuttle crew.