words

words

I don't often wax political, but sometimes you just have to get it out of your system...

<rant>

When used for good, words have the ability to proclaim the truth, foster understanding and free our souls. When used for evil, they carry the power to blind eyes, turn hearts to stone and enslave us.

The latter usage seems more prevalent as of late.

Words that blind our eyes: Axis of Evil. Homeland Security. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Self-defense.
Words that turn hearts to stone: Terrorists. Freedom-haters. Evildoers. Them.
Words that enslave us: Patriot Act. Free Speech Zones. Enemy Combatant. Un-American.

Thomas Jefferson once defined terrorism as "the act of terrorizing, or state of being terrorized; a mode of government by terror or intimidation."

The American Heritage Dictionary offers the following:

"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."

For the longest time I struggled to find a term that captured the essence of how George W. Bush governs this nation. It was staring me in the face all along.

Terrorism.

But unlike 9-11, this terrorism has nothing to do with planes, and everything to do with words.

They tell us to carry on with our lives and not to worry about the impending terrorist attack. We are constantly bombarded by terror alerts and preemptive wars. They say that any dissent helps the terrorists' cause. We are fed words of fear 24 hours a day by this administration and its news outlets.

The only true beneficiary of Al Qaeda's terrorism has been Bush. Over the last two years he has been able to advance his agenda by terrorizing us with the ever-present "threat" of more terrorism He has undermined our freedoms and made a mockery of the Bill of Rights. His State of the Union address makes it abundantly clear he plans to stay the course.

In short, he has played us for fools and so far we have proved him right. Just as Esau of old sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, we are selling ourselves into slavery for a security blanket and a pacifier.

</rant>

Don't even get me started on the deficit and the environment...

Posted by jon at January 22, 2004 12:14 AM