I notice Obama has told everyone to stop using the term "the War on Terror." I always thought the phrase was stoopid, just like the "war" on poverty and the "war" on drugs. "War" has a meaning and its object has to be a group of people such as a nation--or maybe some highly intelligent animals of another species. A war has to include the possibility of ending it via surrender; how do you get a concept or an inanimate object to surrender? Misusing the word "war" this way creates the idea that a war is only truly won when its object has been completely destroyed and no longer exists. Hmm, I suppose that is a textbook example of a meme. If we say we're fighting a "War on Islam," we can't declare victory until their religion no longer exists, which in practical terms would mean that we killed all of them. Even the ones who tried to surrender. I guess it's just as well that hardly anyone below the age of fifty reads newspapers any more.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
