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8.13.2004
Adjectives ??He has even said that by using our strength, we are creating terrorists and placing ourselves in greater danger,?? Cheney said at a political rally in Dayton. ??But that is a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the world we are living in works. Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness.?? ok, in a previous post I was talking about usage of words like "strength" and "weakness". He we have Cheney blurring the lines between a value judgment and an objective fact. We ARE militarily strong, as in we have more weapons than everyone else combined, but we are still weak. The evidence of our weakness: 9-11. Picture a boxer. He works out nearly all day every day. He eats right, does cardio and can lift a small Honda with each arm. Put this man in the ring with a savvy boxer and he might just get his ass kicked. But, you would say, our boxer was stronger. True, and to prove it he marched off into the parking lot and beat up a homeless man. But that doesn't erase the fact that he just got his ass whooped by a better boxer. Strength can be a measure of either power or ability. Cheney is right and Cheney is wrong. Terrorism is NOT caused by strength alone, simply having military might will do little to instigate hatred against us. But where he is wrong is in confusing what those terms mean. I see little strength in our decision to invade Iraq. It was a strategic blunder and an excellent indicator that America is weak in its underbelly, our willingness to play well with others. So our boxer finishes up his drubbing of the homeless man expecting to receive cheers from people applauding his strength only to find instead the astonished faces of horrified spectators. We know that violence without cause is not strength, it is brutality. We DO create terrorist by using our strength... in irresponsible ways. I can think of no better way to run a terrorism marketing campaign than by pointing to the careless use of power by the U.S. Cheney continues: America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive I cannot think of a better way to win a war than to use our senses. Which unless I am mistaken is the origin of the word sensitive. Is Cheney advocating that we "lose our senses"? No, here he is using the negative baggage associated with the word sensitive, one we carry over from our playground days when little girls are told not to "be so sensitive". |
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