Posted on by Kurt

I’m in shock and awe over the destruction of language

Fred over at Fragments at Floyd wants “awe” back and offers some replacements for consideration:

Shock and Terror. Shock and Fear. Or Shock and Dread.

Here are a couple more: what about “Shock and Killing,” or “Shock and Destruction?” Oh right, one can’t be that literal, that truthful.

The real shock: the way that language has been manipulated this week, and how most just go along with the euphemistic smokescreen. “Target of opportunity,” “decapitation strike,” “embedded journalists.” I’m ashamed of my country. But must I be ashamed of my native language? No, I refuse to be.

Abstracted as they are, “shock” and “awe” read like nouns, rather than verbs, as in “to shock and to awe.” As nouns, they are used to express the emotions of the beholder, the receipient, of something shocking and awe-inspiring, and not used for the originators, the instigators, of the shock or awe. But the presumptuousness of this construct isn’t surprising. It’s a presumptuousness that says, “We’re going to rain down bombs on you, and then we’re going to tell you and the world how you feel about it, whether it’s true or not.” The presumptuousness of invaders, of imperialists. Imperialists who are extending their tyranny to language.

4 Replies to “I’m in shock and awe over the destruction of language”

  1. George Orwell warned us, but I don’t think even he could have imagined the amount of double-speak that’s been inflicted on us this week.

    The overt ones I try to ignore. (Along the lines of Desert Storm and Desert Fox, I was hoping for Desert Weasel.) Instead we have Operation Iraqi Freedom. It’s supposed to sound noble, but it just sounds silly. When did global conflicts start having silly names anyway? This is just too serious for silly marketing games.

    The one that bothers me most, though, is calling this military action the “War with Iraq”. This is not a war. It’s an invasion. We’re invading another country. Like the Japanese invaded Manchuria. Like the Chinese invaded Tibet. Like the Germans invaded Poland. Us, the US, the people that were supposed to be the good guys.

  3. Today I’ve heard the war being described with the silly phrase “Prolonged War”. It’s only been a few days that’s not Prolonged. If we have are still bombing the “holy” hell out of them in one year, then it will be prolonged. Go Troops!!!!! Worst wishes to Michael Moore…

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