ABSTRACT
All too frequently, hot-button issues are used to advance political agendas. Terrorism is an ideal candidate for this because it is based on fear and easily manipulated to mislead people. The manipulation crosses the ideological spectrum, and politicians as well as journalists have been the foremost prestidigitators. The word magically extends far and wide, but two examples are worth noting. The American White House manipulates the “t” word to prop up its “war on terror,” and the British Guardian uses it to satisfy its own addiction for blaming the victim. While we may not be able to avoid the rhetorical manipulation, we can try to speak straightforwardly about terror. The remedy is not to becloud but to clarify, and we can start with language.
