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August 17, 2012
Even when terrorists attack us, we don’t say that they are attacking us, we say that they are attacking “freedom.”
This thoughtless and unreal way of speaking is by now so firmly implanted in the American psyche, particularly in the psyche of conservatives, that it seems that nothing short of some unimaginable civilizational catastrophe can remove it. Which means that we are bound to keep empowering aliens and enemies, not to mention our own disordered selves, until they destroy us. -- Western civilization, brought down by slogansPosted by gerardvanderleun at August 17, 2012 10:26 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
'We' can't say they attacked 'us' because that framework is jingoistic. 'We' can only be used to progressive benefit to discuss global visions of 'us'.
'They'' only refers to Americans who understand the Constitution as the overarching law of the land and protector of basic rights and liberties, and America as separate from other nations. If 'you' want to have your voice heard by 'us' it is necessary to put your thoughts into the global framework or be shunned as a hater.
Hence 'we' have our freedoms being attacked and not ourselves, because there is no longer a 'we' separate from them (except those outlined above) and you cant be attacked by yourself, only subject to evolutionary effects by different parts of the whole.
In this scenario, the only 'them' that exists are those who chose separation rather than absorption, who are then viewed as a cancer to be excised from the rest of the body politic.
To be treated as a cancer is disconcerting as you attempt to win converts to your ideas, so you fit your ideas into a more acceptable formulation, diluting your meaning such that you forget what you really stand for, at which point you qualify to become a Republican pundit or politician.
Posted by: Joe at August 18, 2012 7:00 AM