“This week I’m traveling to the U.S.-EU summit in Ireland, homeland to so many Irish Americans” — President George W. Bush, Presidential Radio Address of Saturday, June 26, 2004.
Newsflash to all you Irish-Americans out there, Ireland is your homeland.
I haven’t been all that political on this blog since it’s inception; however, I might as well join the bandwagon every so often.
“War on terror”. I dislike this expression. Sure, this works well in grand-arcing addresses, like the State of the Union. In the context of our daily lives, however, I simply do not like the use of it. I’m fighting a “war on procrastination” and so you, the “enemies of productiveness”, no longer will be allowed such to roam so freely. Sure, I’m making light of a serious issue, terrorism; however, the pure linguistics of it are horrid. I’m not studying English or communications or public policy. That being said, it’s just bad English. We are not fighting a war on terrorism just as we are not fighting a war on crime. We are attempting to limit the abilities of terrorists. We are attempting to overcome whatever elements of crime that we are able. We say that we are trying to end terrorism. I hate to be this blunt but that is an impossible goal. This is not us aiming high; this is us aiming beyond reach. All of the fighting in the “war on terrorism” would never have prevented an Oklahoma City. The worst act of terrorism on American soil, excluding September 11, would never have been prevented by anything the post-September 11 efforts have fruited. In short, we will never be able to “defeat” terrorism.
We are the last superpower in the world. We are the most powerful nation. We have the most resources. We have the highest potential. That makes us, for as long as we hold the top spot, the target of terrorism. We should defend ourselves against it. We can not defeat it like we defeated Nazi Germany. We can not defeat it like we defeated English in the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. Save the dogs, and talk, of war for something that is a war.
The use of military? I’m not getting into that. The use of the terror alert system? I’m not getting into that. War is a simple way to express the complex present solution to the threat of organized terrorism. Simply put, stop treating us like we’re third graders that need to be spoken to like we can’t understand that the world is a complex place where simple solutions simply do not exist.
Newsflash to all you Irish-Americans out there, Ireland is your homeland.
I haven’t been all that political on this blog since it’s inception; however, I might as well join the bandwagon every so often.
“War on terror”. I dislike this expression. Sure, this works well in grand-arcing addresses, like the State of the Union. In the context of our daily lives, however, I simply do not like the use of it. I’m fighting a “war on procrastination” and so you, the “enemies of productiveness”, no longer will be allowed such to roam so freely. Sure, I’m making light of a serious issue, terrorism; however, the pure linguistics of it are horrid. I’m not studying English or communications or public policy. That being said, it’s just bad English. We are not fighting a war on terrorism just as we are not fighting a war on crime. We are attempting to limit the abilities of terrorists. We are attempting to overcome whatever elements of crime that we are able. We say that we are trying to end terrorism. I hate to be this blunt but that is an impossible goal. This is not us aiming high; this is us aiming beyond reach. All of the fighting in the “war on terrorism” would never have prevented an Oklahoma City. The worst act of terrorism on American soil, excluding September 11, would never have been prevented by anything the post-September 11 efforts have fruited. In short, we will never be able to “defeat” terrorism.
We are the last superpower in the world. We are the most powerful nation. We have the most resources. We have the highest potential. That makes us, for as long as we hold the top spot, the target of terrorism. We should defend ourselves against it. We can not defeat it like we defeated Nazi Germany. We can not defeat it like we defeated English in the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. Save the dogs, and talk, of war for something that is a war.
The use of military? I’m not getting into that. The use of the terror alert system? I’m not getting into that. War is a simple way to express the complex present solution to the threat of organized terrorism. Simply put, stop treating us like we’re third graders that need to be spoken to like we can’t understand that the world is a complex place where simple solutions simply do not exist.
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