RUN-UP TO THE SURGE — by Steve Nadis
Then there was the “run-up” to the Iraq War, the only war I know of that had a run-up. Everyone used that term, without exception, and they still do. Run-up conveys a sense of excitement, as if we’re off on some grand adventure, rather than embarking on one of the worst foreign policy disasters in U.S. history, which it surely is.
Now Bush has introduced the term “surge” into common parlance, and the dutiful journalists are following suit. A surge, again, sounds dynamic and exciting, though it’s no different from the many deadly escalations witnessed in Vietnam, which simply raised the number of American corpses and, indeed, boosted the body counts on all sides.
Here’s a challenge to journalists: Let’s start using our own language for a change, rather than embracing the euphemisms (“collateral damage” being another notable example) spoonfed to us by the powers that be. Maybe that’s too radical, as I’m proposing that people start thinking for themselves.
Now you’re going and getting political all over again…..and you know you get worked up over stuff. And we’re stuff with “The Idiot” for a good while longer. Eat some bonbons. Watch Duel in the Sun. Forget the news, press conferences and SNL.
Um…..that was supposed to be “we’re STUCK with “The Idiot…”
Has anyone here seen Children of Men? I’ll surely blog about it on my site, but it could be the best film of the year, cinimatically at the very least. Regardless, to disagree with WW; to ‘wait it out’ as it would be, would be to act as Clive Owen’s character in the first third of the movie. Or worse, his brothers. Sorry, the film is fresh with me, and from a literary stand point, its wonderful to analyze.
To be sure, Journalists are not known for their creativity, nay; we’d be a lot of trouble if they were. Rather, their mantra was, in the long long ago, to tell the truth, tell the story. Unfortuately, with any good Platonian virtue, with truth often comes disgression and as my mother might add, timing, something many reporters and their ilk lack today. Parlance aside, Journalists now daily twitter away like squirrels in the park, throwing shit out there as fast as they can dig it up just to fill air time and raise ratings. You’re sadly right, Snake; when did the news become pop culture?
Vive la Gonzo!
Guttersnake - what can we do but wait it out with “W?” We can complain about it and write about it. We elected a Democratic Congress. I’m not being argumentative, but else can we do?
“THEY” have WMD. WE have WMD. No hypocricy, Snark. A bomb is a WMD. A bullet is not. (A grenade? Iffy.) But our biggest WMD is dub’yah. No single object has resulted in as much aggression, death, destruction & bad will…in a generation.
WW & GS- We can keep the pressure on by writing all our Congressional Representatives, talking to the Media & taking to the streets as needed. Have your bonbons & watch your movie after you’ve helped convince several more of the pointlessness of restoring order, in preparation to leave, in a “‘country’” embroiled in full civil conflict.
The ‘collateral damage’ caused by the W white house on the Int’l scene is breath-taking…& not in a good way.
{European & Asian citizens STILL can’t fathom why we re-elected ‘w’.}
What can we do? We can ‘run-up’ the #s on the polls that indicate Presidential dissapproval, we can ‘rush’ at any chance to impeach the fool & we can pray that there WILL be an insurgency of sensible attitutes among our lawmakers that we won’t ever again take a situation that WAS “under our thumb” & shatter the cookie jar. Power vacuums in a segmented foreign culture are stronger than any Kirby or Eureka you’ll ever encounter.
Wow, a lot of food for thought: W as in short for WMD; stuff the idiot; stuck w/the idiot; news as pop culture; Children of Men (which I did see, by the way). As I was saying: A lot of food for thought.
I think I’m going to follow up on this on my blog either tonight after 24 or later this week… I’ll meet some of you there, if anyone is inclined. Click my name below to get there.
Sounds good GS, let us know when you have something…