Language Liberalism Freethought Birds
Verbing Weirds Language only if you're expecting it to work in a simple way. This is a special case of the more general truth that Language Weirds.
Only when a republic's life is in danger should a man uphold his government when it is in the wrong. There is no other time.
The church says Earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence in a shadow than the church.
If we can't find Heaven, there are always bluejays.
Mike Dunford has a point:
Referring to everyone in uniform as a "hero" is a nice, easy way for the bulk of the American public to assuage whatever pangs their consciences might experience when they consider their own lack of sacrifice during the current war. If everyone who serves is special, heroic, above and beyond the norm, you don't have to feel as bad for not participating yourself. You've left it to the heroes to bear that burden.
I used to teach Russian and Ukrainian, and some basic English, to civil servants. Now I teach Russian at a local continued-learning institute. I dabble in Gaelic and Welsh. I'm am amateur photographer and I love birding (in a small way). I'm a Progressive, and a Freethinker, and I know Evolution is a fact - that's FCD, Friend of Charles Darwin (look down the sidebar). I read a lot, and follow women's college basketball. Also I love astronomy, though I'm a rank amateur at it. Most of all, I like living in the reality-based community...
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1 Comments:
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At 8:14 AM, June 02, 2012
liz had this to say...
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<-- Older Post ^ Home Newer Post -->I agree that "hero" is overused regarding soldiers. SOME soldiers are amazing heroes, and most of us act heroically when required to- but so do most other people too. The majority of us are just professionals serving the nation. But I am not as cynical about Americans- they lack facility in language so they think their respect for a hard job well done is an admiration for the "heroic." They also don't want to relive the ugliness of the body politic during the Vietnam war- and over compensate. Lastly, they don't understand what its like to be a soldier and so don't realize they could do it to.
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